The Deputy Governor of Abia State, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu, has encouraged the National Boundary Commission to muster the political will to devise means of bringing lasting solutions to interstate boundary disputes.
This, he said would be achieved by permanently demarcating the boundary lines of disputing states rather than trivializing issues bordering on boundary problems.
Oko Chukwu, who gave the advice during a two-day Interactive Session of National Boundary Commission with States’ Boundary Committees in the South East Zone, Enugu, further called on the National Boundary Commission to be more proactive in resolving inter-states boundaries across to South East and nation at large to check colossal loss of lives and property arising from boundary Skirmishes.
The Deputy Governor, who is also the Chairman Abia State Boundary Committee urged governments at all level to be more serious and provide enough resources to the joint field workers and other stakeholders involved in the boundary demarcation exercise to enable them discharge and perform optimally and bring the issues of demarcation of boundaries to a logical conclusion.
In their remarks, the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo and her Imo state counterpart, Prof. Placid Njoku, enjoined the National Boundary Commission to hasten up the process of boundary demarcation between states in the South East Zone and appreciated the leadership of national boundary commission for conveying the Interactive Session that provided them the platform to brainstorm on problems confronting them on the way forward.
In his paper presentation, titled ” the Definition of Inter-state Boundaries; The Management Structure and the Journey so Far- South East Zone in Prospective, the Acting Director, National Boundary Commission, Surv. Adamu Adaji attributed some of the reasons for disputes to non proper delimitation of the boundaries when new administrative units are created, politics of boundaries and the ambiguous delineation of the boundaries on maps and charts that cannot be translated onto the ground among others and described the commission as a body that was established in 1987 to foster peace and increase cooperation between the border communities.
