The Governor of Ebonyi State, Rt. Hon Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru has received the interim report of the Amasiri -Edda Boundary Adjustment and Demarcation Committee which he constituted with the charge to among other things, unmask the remote and immediate causes of the deadly communal clash between Amasiri Community in Afikpo LGA and Oso-Edda in Edda LGA.
It would be recalled that following the deadly attacks at Okporojo on the 6th of February , Governor Nwifuru swiftly constituted the committee which is headed by the State Commissioner for Border, Peace and Conflict Resolution Professor Paul Nwobasi.
While receiving the Interim Report in his office , Ochoudo Centenary City Abakaliki, Governor Nwifuru averred that peace remains a prized possession in the human ecosystem, insisting that social unrest, civil disturbances across communities in the state will not have a place in his administration.
“In our administration, we are committed to making peace in all the communities in this state. We are happy people are making sacrifices to support our peace efforts. I thank the committee for identifying the causes of the problem which I am told has lingered for more than 100 hundred years.”
“This is a very hard job that the committee was assigned to do. I am grateful and I thank them. I am not in doubt regarding the credibility of the job that we bestowed on them”.
Dispelling insinuations that the government’s peace moves were against a particular clan, the Ebonyi Chief Executive maintained that his actions were not opaque.
“This matter has been a very big dent on this government and we have to make a decision. Some of the social media influencers who are uninformed believe we are witch hunting some communities”
“We have been able to make amendments and this does not imply weakness.
“We do not blame, because our people know the truth.
Amasiri should know, that as a government, we have no interest. Our interest is the peace that will give us development. Where there’s no peace, there is no development. We are willing to make peace.”
The Governor used the occasion to announce the reinstatement of the two traditional rulers of Ndukwe and Amasiri who were dethroned as a result of the crisis.
“We hereby accept the report and insist statues quo should be maintained as the demarcation exercise is being carried out. None should interfere and trespass on each other’s land”.
Earlier the Chairman of the Committee
Professor Nwobasi, told the Governor that the committee met severally, interfaced with residents and moved round the disputed boundary to be able to come up with accurate results.
“We have surveyed the areas. We went to the areas in question, made sketches and reached decisions. This is why we deemed it necessary to present this interim report to Your Excellency.
The chairman praised Governor Nwifuru for his forthrightness, compassion and thoughtfulness in nipping in the bud the Amasiri -Edda communal clash, which was hydra-headed and intractable .
