Bayelsa urges NBC to resolve boundary dispute with Rivers

Bayelsa State Government has called on the National Boundary Commission, (NBC) to expedite the resolution of the boundary disputes between Bayelsa and Rivers states to enhance peaceful co-existence between them.

The state’s Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, made the call, yesterday, while declaring open a town hall meeting attended by communities along Bayelsa and Delta boundary.

According to him, peace will be elusive if the Commission does not, first of all, address issues of equity, justice and fairness in resolving boundary conflicts.

Ewhrudjakpo said while it was commendable for the Commission to seek peaceful resolution of the impacted communities of Bayelsa and Delta states, it should rather focus on addressing the age-long boundary dispute between Bayelsa and Rivers states.

The Deputy Governor, who is the Chairman of the State Boundary Committee, underscored the need for all parties to come together to dialogue in resolving their differences, noting that without equity, there would be no peace and development.

In his remarks, the member representing Sagbama/Ekeremor in the House of Representatives, Fred Agbedi, appealed to all boundary communities between Agge in Ekeremor Council and Okia in Delta State to continually maintain peace and bring to the attention of the government all issues affecting them.

The Director General of the National Boundary Commission, represented by Mr. Femi Oshinaike, a director in the Commission, said the town hall meeting was organised to inform residents of contesting communities along the Bayelsa and Delta inter-state boundary about the boundary definition process.

Senior Research Officer, Mr. Balogun Samson, gave an overview of the situation between Bayelsa and Delta boundaries.

A consultant in the commission, Abdulfatia Adediran, noted that dialogue remained the best option in addressing contending cross-border issues between communities and states.