National Boundary Commission has begun new moves to end the boundary dispute between Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The NBC summoned officials from the two states to a roundtable meeting on Wednesday, in Abuja.
The Director General of National Boundary Commission, Adamu Adaji, said that earlier meetings did not resolve the issue.
The DG said the boundary in dispute covered 275 kilometres in length between the Old Cross River/Imo interstate boundary areas.
Adaji added that the boundary has “tripoints’’ at Abia, Akwa Ibom and Cross River in the north and Abia, Akwa Ibom and Rivers in the south.
A tripoint or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet.
Adaji explained that the Federal Government declare the Decree 23 of 1985 to adjust the boundary on the recommendations of the Kaloma Ali Boundary Ascertainment Commission, as a starting point of the boundary.
However, Adaji noted, that the directives of the Federal Government for the boundary to be demarcated with the emplacement of permanent boundary pillars were not implemented.
“Since taking over the boundary definition process, the commission has carried out various inconclusive field tracing and provisional demarcation exercises on the boundary.
“The challenges have always been the dearth of clear delimitation instruments or the non-clarity of them where they exist.
“Other challenges include the deliberate efforts to misinterpret the documents by stakeholders or their failure to accept them.
“Fortunately, we have succeeded in identifying sectors of the boundary that were not defined by the Decree line; the sectors in dispute as well as the sectors that the two states agreed as their areas of consensus,’’ Adaji said.
He said Wednesday’s meeting was organised to review the status of work on the boundary and discuss the way forward toward the completion of outstanding works.
Deputy Governor of Abia State, Mr Ikechukwu Emetu, described the border disputes as man-made, expressing boldness that it would be resolved.
Emetu, who is also Chairman of Abia Boundary Committee, advised that 1999 constitution should be used to solve cases involving boundary adjustment.
“If all of us decide to solve this problem for ourselves and our people, we shall surely find solutions that can be applied to the various sectors of the disputed boundaries,” he said.
He also expressed optimism that the two states would renew their vigour and adopt a progressive approach to resolving the issue.
“We are one, but we need to constantly remind ourselves and our people of this indisputable fact.
“These lingering disputes which date back to the 1980s are largely due to human nature and lack of political will on the part of the authorities,” he said.
Let Zebra News help your business/brand reach a wider audience. Advertise with us today! Contact Our Marketing Team; Tel: 08062622328, 07083662767. Email: zebranewsng@gmail.com
