The National Boundary Commission has urged stakeholders to assist in supporting the continuous attempts to delineate the interstate boundary between Cross River and Ebonyi States.
Director General of the commission, Mr. Adamu Adaji, made the case in Abuja, during a joint meeting of officials from the two states.
Adaji clarified that the purpose of the meeting was to assess the boundary’s current state and talk about the best course of action for defining and demarcating it.
The interstate boundary issue between the states, according to him, dates back several years.
He said that the land dispute and the contradiction between indigenous settlers and non-native settlers occasionally cause confusion and crises in the border settlements.
He blamed the repeated crises on the non-determination and demarcation of the interstate boundary, characterizing it as one of the erratic interstate boundaries in Nigeria with a high likelihood of harm to peace.
“The crisis on the boundary necessitated the intervention of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and his Vice Atiku Abubakar at different times.
“The Federal Government was also compelled to draft military personnel to the sectors of the boundary in 2005 to maintain peace.
“The commission’s efforts over the years had been to re-establish the boundary following available documents.
“These efforts resulted in the tracing and provisional demarcation of the boundary by a Joint Field Team (JFT) on the boundary between 2000 and 2004,” he said.
The State Boundary Committee Chairman and Deputy Governor of Cross River, Mr. Peter Odey, noted the lack of progress in the states’ boundary issue while applauding the NBC as well.
Odey declared that the state was willing to continue assisting in attempts to resolve the unresolved conflict rationally.
In the same vein, NBC’s efforts to resolve the conflict were praised by Mrs. Patricia Obila, the state boundary committee chairperson and deputy governor of Ebonyi.
To stop the fighting between the neighboring villages of the states, Obila promised the backing of the Ebonyi administration.
