Bello inaugurates Kogi boundary committee

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has inaugurated a 15-man Kogi State Boundary Committee chaired by the Deputy Governor, Edward Onoja, and charged them to work towards the lasting resolution of all lingering boundary concerns.

During the inauguration at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, at the weekend, the governor noted that such a committee was set up to maintain peace and security, knowing how touchy boundary conflict could be.

He recalled that before his administration, there were boundary conflicts with some neighbouring states, within the state and even among communities and clans, adding, however, that his administration had been able to maintain peaceful co-existence.

The governor asserted that despite sharing boundaries with over nine states, his government had come up with its own initiative to maintain peace.

Aside from the interstate meeting between Kogi and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in July, his government deemed it necessary to set up the Kogi State Boundary Committee drawing its legal backing from Section 24 (1) of the National Boundary Commission Act of 2006, which empowered state governments in that regard, The Guardian gathered.

The governor revealed that a director-general would be appointed for the committee, which would most preferably be a civil servant, to ensure the smooth running of the committee.

In his response, the deputy governor thanked his principal for his sterling leadership, which allowed the state to weather the trying times even as regards boundary conflicts and crises.

He assured that the committee members would utilise their wealth of experience to navigate all existing boundary conflicts, asserting that their first task was the delineation between the state and FCT, which would begin today and last for 21 days.