Communal clashes: Benue, Cross River states agree on completion of demarcation of interstate boundary

Benue and Cross River States have agreed on the need to complete the demarcation of its interstate boundary and bring to end uncertainties and clashes along the border corridor.

At a meeting held today at Valencia Hotels, Wuse, Abuja under the guidance of the National Boundary Commission (NBC), the two states led by their respective deputy governors, Engr Benson Abounu for Benue and Prof. Ivara Esu for Cross River State agreed that the completion of the demarcation exercise is a sine-qua-non for peace and development along the border corridor.

The meeting, presided over by the Director-General, NBC, Surveyor Adamu Adaji, and attended by Surveyor Adeyemi Adebomehin of the office of the Surveyor-General of the federation adopted the report of the technical committee of experts on the interstate boundary and resolved that field verification exercise should commence on Sunday 8th November 2020 at Obanliku local government area of Cross River State.

The meeting resolved that the technical committee of experts should conduct an inventory/audit of the pillars to determine the pillars emplaced and the sectors that need emplacement of pillars.

Surveyor Adaji, who read the communiqué of the meeting, stated that no monumentation or beaconing shall take place without the presence of surveyors from the National Boundary Commission, Office of the Surveyor-General of the federation and representatives of the states’ Surveyors-General.

In separate speeches, Engr Benson  Abounu and Prof. Ivara Esu  sued for peace and continual brotherly relations between the two states, adding that the people of the two states have more to gain in an atmosphere of peace than conflict.

Engr Abounu, who recalled recent incidences of dispute between people of the two states called for calm, stressing that boundaries are for administrative purposes, and not meant to divide people. He said the people in the two states are brothers, who have lived together and intermarried for long.

The meeting was attended by top government functionaries from the two states, local government chairmen from the neighbouring local government areas and traditional rulers.