By Victor Nwegede
The Ngbo community in the Ohaukwu local government area of Ebonyi and its Agila neighbourhood in Benue have called on the federal, state and local governments to construct a trans-border commercial road connecting the two communities and their states.
The two communities made the call yesterday while celebrating their one year of uninterrupted restored peace at Ekwashi Ngbo ancestral playground after over 100 years of having bloody war as a result of a boundary dispute.
In his address, the Co-Chairman of the Ngbo and Agila Inter-Community Peace and Reconciliatory Committee, Hon Cyril Esheya Obazi, said the construction of the road would enhance easy movement and trans-border commercial relationship between the people of Ngbo and Agila.
He also called for genuine discussion between the leaders of Ngbo and Agila, the state and federal governments on the issue of boundary line adjustment and demarcation to further cement the peace. He equally appealed for government presence in the area by establishing tertiary institutions, industries, hospitals, police and military formations in the disputed area.
He appreciated stakeholders and people of Ngbo and Agila, both home and abroad, for their contributions to the sustenance of the peace in their various communities and states since 18th November 2023 till date.
Pastor Aboh Otse Okibe representing Co-Chairman of Ngbo and Agila Inter-Community Peace Peace and Reconciliatory Committee, Otse Otokpa
commended the government functionaries and stakeholders from both communities for having encouraged the people to embrace peace. Otokpa noted that the committee has been able to establish trust between the two communities since last year following its inauguration and described the peaceful development as the handiwork of God.
He called for more commitment by the stakeholders and people of the two communities to strengthen the peace through the encouragement of healthy political activities, electing God-fearing citizens into positions of trust, and looking at their antecedents before giving any support and appointment to individuals.
He said the people are tired of war and killing themselves and advised everyone to join in the campaign to go back to school, farming, and businesses in their communities while revealing the federal government's plan to demarcate the disputed land permanently through the National Boundary Commission, NBC.
The President of Ngbo Leaders Council - Dr Emmanuel Odoh, President of Agila Development Union Worldwide - Peter Otokpa; Second in Command Agila Traditional Rulers Council - Chief Ata Ominyi, commended member representing Ebonyi/Ohaukwu federal constituency, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu, Eze and other stakeholders who worked tirelessly to restore peace in their communities. They urged their people to shun any form of crisis by coming back to their various homes to invest meaningfully for human benefits in the area.
They also appealed to the Ebonyi State government to construct the Ukwa Agba road linking Ebonyi to Benue through Agila to ease access to their markets and farms.
The lawmaker representing Ebonyi/Ohaukwu federal constituency, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu Eze commended the two communities for having accepted to live peacefully, saying God breached protocols for this thing to happen, when he moved the motion of national importance at the National Assembly, regards the need to end the aged long crisis between the two communities.
Nwachukwu described Ngbo and Agila as a subject of peace study globally, saying that the Ngbo/Agila peace model has been adopted by the United Nations to tackle local, national and international conflicts worldwide.
He encouraged the two communities to intermarry, engage in football competitions, and any other venture that could promote peace in the area.
He said the issue of roads has been a thing of sleepless nights to him and revealed federal and state government efforts to construct the roads linking Ebonyi and Benue states. The lawmaker announced that efforts are on top gear to establish tertiary institutions in the area as a result of the existing peace.
The Chairman of Ohaukwu local government area of Ebonyi State, Prince Ikechukwu Odono recalled his contributions since 2022 when he assumed office to restore peace in the area.
He warned the people against engaging themselves in any form of crisis, saying anybody who moves against this existing peace stands a chance of being ostracized from his or her community.
He announced that work would commence on the Ekwashi Ngbo-Agila road in December 2024 and assured that many road projects would be captured in the 2025 budget.
Governor Francis Nwifuru, represented by Ebonyi State Commissioner for Power and Energy, Chief Peter Ogali, who was a special guest at the event, assured of embarking on more road infrastructures in the area. Nwifuru said apart from the ongoing 2km road in every community in Ebonyi; his administration has plans to construct roads linking the state to its neighbourhoods to boost economic activities and ease movement.
