The National Boundary Commission (NBC) has reaffirmed positions aligning with Edo State’s long-standing call for a peaceful and lawful resolution of the protracted Edo/Kogi interstate boundary dispute, signaling renewed momentum toward final demarcation.
At a Joint Meeting of Officials held at Lucy Hall, Bon Hotel (Elvis), Wuse II, Abuja, the Director-General of the Commission, Surveyor Adamu A. Adaji, convened representatives of Edo and Kogi states alongside federal technical agencies to review progress and chart a path for the resumption of the stalled boundary monumentation exercise.
Leading Edo State’s delegation, the Deputy Governor and Chairman of the Edo State Boundary Committee, Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa, reiterated the state’s commitment to a technically sound and legally grounded resolution process. He pointed to the 2006 mutually agreed boundary alignment as a definitive milestone that provides both the legal and technical framework required to conclude the exercise.
Idahosa stressed that the immediate task is to overcome the factors that disrupted monumentation efforts initiated in 2007, particularly resistance encountered in some host communities. He called for the urgent resumption of fieldwork in the overall interest of residents along the affected corridor.
Technical briefings at the meeting confirmed that the Internal Boundary Technical Committee (IBTC) had, in 2006, approved the Edo/Kogi boundary based on Legal Notice 126 of 1954. Both states had formally adopted the alignment, and monumentation commenced in 2007 before operations were halted.
The Commission acknowledged Edo State’s sustained cooperation with federal authorities throughout the process, noting that the foundational boundary framework is already established and that what remains is the completion of physical monumentation.
Resolutions reached at the meeting outline a coordinated roadmap toward final demarcation. The Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation and the NBC are to provide Edo State with large-scale maps of the agreed alignment. The Commission will also engage directly with Edo authorities to facilitate early resumption of monumentation.
In preparation for field operations, Edo State will undertake targeted sensitization and enlightenment campaigns in affected border communities, working closely with traditional institutions to address local concerns. The Federal Government and both states are to jointly identify pillar sites ahead of full deployment, while adequate security arrangements will be put in place to ensure smooth and uninterrupted operations.
The renewed federal-state coordination is widely seen as a decisive step toward resolving one of the lingering interstate boundary issues, with stakeholders expressing optimism that the long-delayed demarcation may soon reach completion.