The incessant border clashes between Ariam communities in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia and their counterparts in Ini and Obot Akara of Akwa Ibom have given Abia State government sleepless nights.
Consequently, the Abia government has tasked the National Boundary Commission, NBC, to urgently delineate the boundary between the two states.
Abia State Deputy Governor, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu, who stated this during a joint sensitization and enlightenment campaign along the Abia/Akwa Ibom interstate boundary, lamented that the state is worried by the constant loss of lives and properties in the border communities.
Chukwu noted that the border communities in the state are known for their peaceful disposition towards boundary issues, and urged other communities sharing boundaries with the state to toe the path of peace.
While commending the NBC for their determination to ensure that law and order reigns in the border communities, the Deputy Governor insisted that only the physical demarcation and field tracing of boundaries is the only solution to the incessant border clashes.
“Abia state government is worried over the constant clashes and loss of lives and properties in the border communities. The NBC should urgently demarcate the boundary between the two states to save loss of lives and properties. Only the physical demarcation and field tracing remain the solution to the boundary clashes,” the Deputy Governor said.
Earlier, Surveyor Adamu Adaji, the Director-General of NBC, had said the joint sensitization and enlightenment campaign along the Abia/Akwa Ibom interstate boundary, was necessitated by the recent clashes that led to loss of lives and properties.
Adaji who stated the commitment of the NBC to perform the demarcation and physical tracing of the disputed area, however, stating that the NBC is hampered by claims and counter-claims from the parties in dispute.
The Chairman, Ikwuano Local Government Area, Chief Steve Mpamugo, alleged that their Akwa Ibom neighbours have continued to attack and kill Ikwuano people and encroach on their farmlands hence the need for NBC to delineate the boundary between the two states to avoid further loss of lives and properties.
