The governments of Edo and Kogi states, yesterday, threw their weight behind the Federal Government’s renewed push to finally demarcate the long-disputed interstate boundary, pledging cooperation, peace, and stakeholder engagement to end years of uncertainty and conflict in their border communities.
 
The commitment was made in Abuja at a Joint Meeting of Officials convened by the National Boundary Commission, where the Commission’s Director-General, Adamu A. Adaji, outlined a detailed roadmap to conclude the demarcation process that dates to colonial-era descriptions.
 
Adaji explained that the Edo–Kogi boundary was originally part of the old Northern and Western regions boundary, as defined by Legal Notice 126 of 1954, but disagreements over interpretation have continued to fuel disputes in sectors such as Okpella/Okene, Ogori–Ekpedo, and the Ake axis.
 
He said several technical and joint meetings, including field tracing and provisional demarcation carried out between 2000 and 2001, had already produced an approved alignment endorsed by the Commission’s Internal Boundaries Technical Committee in 2006.
 
Despite earlier progress, the final monumentation exercise was stalled in 2008, following protests by some border communities.
 
Adaji identified poor sensitisation, elite and traditional interests, funding constraints, and competing claims over natural resources as key obstacles delaying resolution.
 
He said the current meeting was convened to reassess progress, address grey areas, and chart a practical way forward.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Kogi State and Chairman of the State Boundary Committee, Joel Salifu, has advocated for a peaceful resolution of the lingering boundary disputes.
 
Salifu made the call yesterday in Abuja during the Joint Meeting of Officials on the Edo/Kogi Interstate Boundary Committee.
 
A statement by the Press Secretary to the deputy governor of Kogi State, Unubi Emmanuel, noted that the meeting, which had the Deputy Governor of Edo State,  Dr Dennis Idahosa, and the Edo State delegation, was convened by the National Boundary Commission as part of ongoing efforts to enhance the definition and final demarcation of the boundary between the two states.
 
In his remarks, Salifu commended the Commission for organising the meeting at a critical time, noting that although the boundary has witnessed disputes in the past, both Edo and Kogi states are now committed to resolving all outstanding issues peacefully.