The governments and people of Enugu and Ebonyi States have agreed to end the protracted boundary dispute between the two states before the end of January 2023.
The creation of the two states had brought about boundary problems, which the National Boundary Commission had waded into the issues with the composition of a High Profile Sensitisation Campaign to be carried out along the border communities of the two States.
The Sensitisation Campaign was successfully carried out and hosted by Enugu State where all the boundary contending Local-Government Chairmen, Vice Chairmen, Traditional Rulers, Presidents General and Youth leaders pledged their full support and commitment towards the boundary demarcation and pillar emplacement for a peaceful boundary tenure.
With the inauguration of the Joint Field Team and commencement of field work for the pillar emplacement field work on the consensus points and sectors of the boundary line by the two States, they successfully emplaced 49 Pillars out of the 149 intended.
Speaking at on the occasion of joint meeting of ofeicials on Enugu/Ebonyi interstate boundaries held at Convention Hall, Nike Lake Resort Hotel, in Enugu, deputy governor of Enugu State and chairman of the state boundary committee, Barr. Cecelia Ezeilo commended the governors of the two states for their support and concerted efforts to ensure a peaceful boundary regime.
He expressed optimism that more progress would be made at the boundary line to conclude and finalise the pillar emplacement exercise and bring about a lasting peace.
“This exercise is no mean feat, to say the least, it is ground breaking. I wish to thank the joint field team, the security agents, the traditional rulers, community leaders, the media and everyone involved in this land mark achievement for being supportive thus far.
“On this note, I want to thank the conveners of this meeting and all stakeholders involved for all their positive and sincere contributions which will be of help in the determination and demarcation of the boundaries of the two states,” Ezeilo said.
Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Dr. Kelechi Igwe lamented that the resolution of the boundary issue was taking so much time to conclude, and urged the national boundary commission to expedite action for a timeline of delivery for resolutions.
The Director-General of the National Boundary Commission, Adamu Adaji, commended the Enugu and Ebonyi States governments for doing so much to give NBC maximum support in resolving the dispute.