A’Ibom deputy gov worries over rise in boundary clashes

Akpan Umoh

The Akwa Ibom Deputy Governor, Mr Moses Ekpo, has expressed sadness over rising cases of boundary crisis, especially those experienced in Oro nation, and appealed to them to allow peace to reign.

Ekpo said this during the funeral service of the late Ahta Oro VII and Paramount Ruler of Mbo Local Government, Ahta Edet Okon Isemin, at the Oro Sports Stadium.

He urged Oro Nation to use the opportunity of the funeral of their distinguished Traditional Ruler to bring a cessation of all forms of hostilities and allow peace to prevail in the area.

The deputy governor, who is also the Chairman of the State Boundary Committee, described the skirmishes over boundary and land disputes between one section of the Oro nation and the other as saddening.

Ekpo warned that the reason for creating Oro nation into various Local Government Areas was to enable development to get to all the areas and not to promote crisis.

“The spirit of the Oro people has never been the way it is now, seeking to shed the blood of your Kith and kin.

“As the chairman of the State Boundary Committee, I am saddened by the developments which has evolved in the area and it doesn’t speak well of the leaders of Oro nation,” he noted.

The deputy governor called on those at the border communities who are responsible for the disputes to bring an end to it, stating that any skirmish in Oro nation affects the entire State.

“Oro is a part of Akwa Ibom State and any skirmish in Oro nation affects the entire State. I plead with those responsible for the land disputes to bring a stop so that we can build the state together. Let there be peace and tranquillity.”

Ekpo, however, commended the church, the traditional rulers and Oro people generally for turning out en-masse to show solidarity and pay their last respects to the late patriarch.

In his homily, the Vicar General, Pastoral Diocese of Uyo, Very Reverend Fr. Emmanuel Ating, who drew his text from the book of second Corinthians, called on Christians, political office holders and businesspeople to live trustworthy lives as they would be expected to give account of their services to humanity.

Ating decried the corrosion of traditional values which he said used to guide the behaviour of people in the society.

He expressed displeasure that youths no longer revere the traditional stools, but rather constitute themselves into their own authorities and groupings to intimidate the traditional rulers.

The Cleric frowned at the customary and traditional demands in the community before burials, which has made it difficult to bury the dead.