Lucky Obukohwo Reporting
The Bayelsa State Government has stepped into the boundary dispute between Otuegwe II community in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state and the neighbouring Okarki community in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The government also threatens to invite the National Boundaries Commission (NBC) into the matter as a last resort for the resolution of the dispute if the efforts of the two states failed.
It called on the two communities to avoid provocative actions that might lead to the breakdown of law and order, advising them to maintain the status quo on the land ownership dispute.
Speaking during a meeting with the paramount ruler, Community Development Council (CDC) chairman, chiefs and other stakeholders of Otuegwe II Community in the Government House, Yenagoa, the Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, assured that the government would take steps to resolve the disagreement amicably.
Ewhrudjakpo, who harped on the need for both communities to be at peace with each other, said the government would do its best to prevent the escalation of the issue into a major inter-communal crisis.
He promised that the governments of Bayelsa and Rivers states would jointly look at the protracted land dispute with a view to proffering a lasting solution to it.
He called on the Commissioners of Police of both states and the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) of Akinima in Ahoada West LGA and Kolo in Ogbia to call their people to order so as to forestall any possible breakdown of law and order in the area.
“The Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs raised the alarm over the land dispute between Otuegwe II and their Okarki neighbors in Rivers State.
“The state boundary committee handles all inter-community boundary disputes within the state, but this case involves two communities from different states – one in Bayelsa, and the other in Rivers State.
“We will do our best to resolve the matter, working with the boundary committee in Rivers State.
“I will contact my Rivers counterpart to resolve it, and by God’s grace, it will be resolved peacefully. It is only when our efforts fail that the National Boundary Commission would come in because it is the responsibility of the Commission to handle boundary disputes involving two states,” Ewhrudjakpo said.
Speaking on behalf of the Otuegwe 11 Ccommunity, the paramount ruler, Abili Abraham, the spokesman, Mr. Nabai Osia and the caretaker committee member of Ogbia LGA, Minera Ofua, alleged that Okarki community has been a thorn in their flesh for decades.
They claimed that Otuegwe 11 community had previously won four court cases over the land, dating as far back as 1967 before the outbreak of the Nigerian civil war, and appealed to the state government to come to their aid.
In his contribution, the Surveyor-General of Bayelsa State, Mr. Gede Moses, said the land dispute was not new, noting that efforts were made during the previous administration to find a lasting solution to it.