Commission urged to resolve Ogun, Ondo boundary dispute

The Ondo State Government (ODSG) has appealed to the National Boundary Commission (NBC) to end the boundary dispute between Ondo and Ogun States.

The state Deputy Governor, Mr Agboola Ajayi, made the appeal on Tuesday in Akure when the NBC officials who were in the state for ethnographic study on boundary crisis between the two sister states, paid him a courtesy visit.

Ajayi appealed to the officials to do justice to the study while he assured them of adequate security among other logistics for the smooth conduct of the week-long exercise.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NBC officials were in the state to conduct ethnographic studies on the four local governments involved in the boundary crisis in Ondo State.

The affected councils are: Ondo West, Odigbo, Okitipupa and llaje Local Government Areas.

Agboola who assured the officials that the state government was ready for a peaceful conduct of the exercise noted that  Ondo State  is the most peaceful state among the Niger-Delta states .

According to him, the boundary crisis between Ogun and Ondo has been a long one.

He said that the state government understood the predicament of the commission in pronouncing judgment over the dispute.

He said that the residents of llado and Ayila communities are lkale and llaje people from Ondo State and regarded themselves as citizens of the state rather than Ogun.

He said , “The people from the above mentioned communities are residents of Ondo State  and have always cooperated with the state government.’’

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Earlier, the Director, National Boundary Commission, Dr. Richard Oji, said that the commission was making efforts to find lasting solutions to the crisis.

Oji added that it was also aimed at achieving boundary cooperation between the two states through ethnographic study.

Oji said that during the conduct of the exercise, the commission would look into factors which led to the   dispute.

He said that the commission while in the state was not to share the boundary but to see how the residents of the affected communities could co-exist.

The director added that it was also to gather information that would lead to the resolution on the dispute.

According to him, the residents of the affected communities will be enlightened on the essence of the exercise for peace to reign.

Oji said that the commission had held a series of meetings with the two states to ensure the long boundary dispute was resolved.

He said that the resolution that there should be an ethnographic study of the affected communities was reached at one of the meetings held in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun.

NAN reports that the Ondo State Boundary Commission had initially conducted a programme to sensitise the residents of the affected local councils in the crisis.

It also urged them to allow for peaceful co-existence before, during and after the conduct of the exercise by the NBC.