The federal government has directed Imo and Abia states to resuscitate fieldwork to facilitate identification and establishment of pillar points for subsequent demarcation of boundary lines between respective border communities in the two states.
Dropping the hint Tuesday in Abuja at a joint meeting at the instance of the National Boundary Commission (NBC), Surveyor Adamu Adaji, the director general of the commission, said the federal government was uncomfortable with the recurrent skirmishes among border communities in the two states, saying it has not only raised unnecessary tension but added to the lingering security challenges in the country.
The government further said agitation and conflicts have hindered the efforts of the two state governments to provide dividends of democracy through the provision of infrastructural development in the affected areas.
Going on memory lane, Surveyor Adaji, recalled that efforts to address the border conflicts between the two states have repeatedly stalled in 2003, 2006, and 2009 because the states were unable to mobilise delegates to present necessary documents for screening, confirmation and subsequent fieldwork to identify pillar points and place same for eventual demarcation exercise.
“We commenced action for the demarcation exercise as far back as 2003 but unfortunately for reasons beyond our control we could not complete the exercise as expected. We had reasons to revisit it in 2006 and 2009 and though we had agreed that the fieldwork should commence almost immediately in 2010, we could not effect that resolution even up till now.
However, he said with the assurances of both state governments, the federal government is now more determined that the states should resuscitate fieldwork and ensure that the border lines are established for demarcation exercise.
Adaji also said the two states are relatively peaceful because Abia and Imo were one until the former was carved out of the latter, adding that: “It is only necessary that a boundary line be shown for the administrative purposes, if not there would be no need for any boundary since the two states had co-existed together under the old Imo state.
“Boundary demarcation is shown not for any reason but to show the limit of Abia and Imo on where they should stop their development and for the federal government to know when and where to cite certain structures fairly and evenly.”
Meanwhile, the Imo state deputy governor, Prof Basil Njoku, has insisted that the meeting should work modalities for fieldwork to curb issues of litigation, youth restiveness, violence among others acts of immorality stressing that skirmishes in four local government areas in Imo and their neighbours in Umuahia North and Ihite among others were uncalled for.
Similarly, the deputy governor of Abia state, Udo Ugochukwu, demanded a workable agenda from the NBC saying that talks that would result in a far-reaching decision for permanent resolution of the boundary disputes should be the objective of the meeting.