The director-general of the National Boundaries Commission (NBC), Dr Mohammed Ahmed, has told the people of Abia and Cross River states that the interstate boundaries between them should be seen as lines for administrative jurisdiction, and not divisive ones.
?The NBC boss, who stated this in a statement yesterday, recalled his efforts to resolve the interstate dispute and said that his commission had convened series of meetings and constituted a joint field team to trace and demarcate the boundaries between the two states since in 1995, but that the result was rejected by both states.? To this effect the commission has set up a committee to see to the peaceful resolution of these crises.
The statement reads in part: “The earlier constituted technical committee of Experts was resuscitate and assigned to submit a report on the boundary to the National Boundary Commission.
“A joint peace committee and an Enlightenment Committee were also constituted to provide security and enlighten the border communities on the importance of peaceful co-existence”
? In his response, the deputy governor of Abia State and chairman of the state boundary committee, Chief Emeka Ananaba, stated that both states had long historical and cultural ties which they should exploit, and called on the national boundary chairman to intensify efforts to resolve the disputes amicably.
In his contribution, Ananaba’s counterpart in Cross River State, Barrister Effiok Cobham lamented that the dispute had caused the? vandalisation of construction equipment at Ikot Okapara, and
prevented some developmental efforts in the region.