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Thursday 1 November 2012

Presidency Wades Into Kogi/Anambra Border Dispute; Discusses Problems Resulting From Ceding Of Bakassi With Akwa Ibom, Cross River State Governments



Dispute arising from border demarcation and loss of land was the major consideration as two separate groups of Governors met with President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo on Wednesday evening

In both meetings the Presidency's intervention was to engineer an amicable solution to the stand off between the states

The devastating floods which swept through the nation these past 3 months seemed designed to douse tempers that had risen high because of the dispute over the recently discovered oil well along the Anambra- Kogi border

But it seems with the ebbing of the tides, the contending sides are up in arms again prompting the Presidency to wade in

The area is under dispute between 3 communities: Otu-Aguleri in Anambra, Igga in Enugu and Ibaji in Kogi and therefore delegations from Anambra, Kogi and Enugu states were at this parley

And while this was a matter for the Nigerian Boundary Commission, President Jonathan's intervention is expected to speed up demarcation of borders and lead to an amicable resolution agreeable to al parties

In a slight departure, Akwa-Ibom and Cross-River states had been in disagreement for a long time over 76 oil wells with a Supreme Court decision finally awarding Akwa Ibom the oil wells 

However, the issue at this meeting was what should be done to resolve the problems created by the ceding of the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon 

While both Governors agree that human rights abuses, resettlement and logistics constitute the major problems, they proffer different approaches to solve them

It is hoped that these high level negotiations at the top levels  will have impact at the grassroots where crisis is threatening to boil over as communities across borders face off in a fight for land

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