NAN-H-60
Sensitization
By Bassey Bassey
Itu(Akwa Ibom), Nov. 20, 2017 (NAN) The Akwa Ibom Government has commenced sensitization of coastal communities in Itu local government area ahead of the proposed boundary demarcation between Akwa Ibom and Cross River by the National Boundary Commission.
Addressing the people of Oku Iboku clan of Itu local government area on Monday, the Deputy Governor, Mr Moses Ekpo, commended the people for being peaceful in spite of series of attacks.
Ekpo, who was represented by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Uwemedimo Nwoko, also thanked the security agencies for maintaining peace and order along Akwa Ibom boundary with Cross River.
He said that the creation of Akwa Ibom out of Cross River was meant to enhance development and not disunity and destruction of lives by people, who had hitherto lived peacefully.
The Deputy Governor advised the people of Itu local government area to continue to remain calm, saying that civility does not mean cowardice.
“The Akwa Ibom Government is interested in defending every inch of the land that belongs to the state.
“We believe God that the land that belongs to us in Akwa Ibom State will not be taken away.”
In his address, the representative of the Zonal Office of the National Boundary Commission in Calabar, Mr Archibong Okon, advised the people to continue to embrace peace and avoid unnecessary fight.
Okon urged the people to respect ancient landmarks especially during this farming season and pledged that the commission would do justice to the people of the two states.
Also speaking, Mr Nse Akpan, the representative of the Office of Surveyor-General of the Federation, pleaded with the people to avoid boundary clash with their Cross River neighbours.
Akpan urged the Itu people to have faith that the Office of the Survey-General of the Federation would be diligent in the boundary demarcation and bring lasting peace to the area.
In his remark, a community leader, Prof. Okon Ansa, said that several lives had been lost and that the people of Oku Iboku were living in perpetual fear day and night.
Ansa, who was a former Agriculture Commissioner in Akwa Ibom, said that the people of the area truly needed peace as the crisis in the area was unnecessary.
He expressed regret that the perennial boundary fight was simply a dispute between Oku Iboku people and their Ikot Offiong neighbours, both in Akwa Ibom.
Ansa urged relevant government agencies to undertake diligent investigation to discover the truth and for peace to reign.
In his speech, the paramount ruler of Itu local government area, Edidem Edet Inyang, thanked the state government for wading into the boundary clashes in the area.
Edet urged the federal and state governments to find a lasting solution to the lingering boundary crisis, especially the Akwa Ibom and Cross River boundary dispute. (NAN)
BB/NKO/NKO
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Edited by Nkechi Okoronkwo