Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo is currently having a meeting with State Deputy Governors from the federation, over misunderstandings that usually erupts from boundary disputes.
The meeting which is taking place at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Monday, had the Vice President explaining that it became necessary to convene the meeting to enable all stakeholders in boundary issues, understand the Act establishing the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and roles they must play to mitigate misunderstandings that emanate from it.
Osinbajo who doubles as Chairman of the National Boundary Commission acknowledged that politicians were in the habit of playing games with lands, irrespective of the fact that some people attach emotions to land and boundary issues.
Recall that NBC established in Nigeria under CAP 238 of 1990, is responsible for controlling the activities at the borders Nigeria shares with other countries. It is also tasked with forestalling the inflow of contraband and illegal materials into the country as well as resolving issues that may arise between Nigerian states that share borders.
Recall that while many states in the country have inter-boundary disputes, which sometimes result in communal clashes and deaths, the National Boundary Commission, as the regulatory agency has been deploying efforts to amicably resolve them.
While declaring the meeting open before State House reporters were sent away, Osinbajo said, “the idea of this meeting is to discuss the Act, inter-state rancour and various misunderstandings which the Commission from time to time deals with, with the stakeholders. For instance, we would jointly review the works of the Commission, we cannot stress enough that land is an emotive issue, most times fatalities evolves from land disputes.
“There has to be an understanding of who has access to land because in some cases these are tied to ancestors. But these issues should not result in violence, in some cases resolving these disputes can only be done at the highest levels of governance.
“Let me remind us that we are not here to resolve any particular state border crisis, but perhaps this meeting will review how disputes can be settled without political interference because very often when politicians play games with lands, it results in creating tensions.”
State Deputy Governors who doubles as state chairmen of the Boundary Commissions present at the meeting include, Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ondo, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, Taraba and Yobe.
At the federal level, Ministers present includes that of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Defence, and regional members of the National Boundary Commission among others.
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