Adaji reels out achievements at NBC, set future targets

In a significant media parley held at the headquarters of the National Boundary Commission (NBC) in Abuja on Wednesday, Surveyor Adamu Adaji outlined key achievements of the Commission in 2023 and laid out strategic plans for 2024.

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TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the event, attended by top Directors of the NBC and members of the press, served as a platform for the Commission to highlight its efforts in managing Nigeria’s internal and international boundaries.

Surveyor Adaji, who is the Director-General of NBC, at the event, emphasised the Commission’s commitment to managing Nigeria’s internal and international boundaries.

This, Adaji said, includes overseeing boundaries between communities, local government areas, States, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as well as managing land and maritime boundaries with neighbouring countries.

The NBC DG detailed the Commission’s strategy focused on dispute prevention, resolution, boundary definition, and maintaining trans-border relations.

“These efforts involved extensive activities such as delimitation record searches, joint meetings, field investigations, demarcation, sensitisation campaigns, ethnographic studies, and workshops.

“Internationally, the Commission engaged in bilateral and multilateral arrangements, collaborating with neighbouring nations and international organisations like the United Nations and ECOWAS.

“Notably, the Commission continued its work on the Nigeria-Cameroon boundary under the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission (CNMC), placing a total of 2,214 pillars along the boundary.

“A significant achievement in 2023 was the deposition of the African Union Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation at the AU Headquarters in Ethiopia, marking Nigeria as the 9th African nation to do so.

“The Commission also revived efforts on the Nigeria-Benin boundary, conducting investigations and organising cross-border cultural and sporting activities to foster integration and diminish the impact of the colonial-imposed boundary.

“In collaboration with Niger, the Commission focused on recovering and reconstructing boundary pillars dating back to the early 20th century, successfully reconstructing 128 main pillars and constructing 739 intermediate pillars along the Nigeria-Niger boundary,” the NBC DG said.

Adaji highlighted the creation of platforms for focal Border Authorities and Traditional rulers in border States, aiming to promote peaceful coexistence and regional integration.

“Despite facing challenges such as uncooperative attitudes from some border communities and limited resources, the Commission achieved notable success in 2023,” Adaji said.

The Director-General emphasised the importance of media engagement for accurate reportage and shared that the Commission’s management had recently conducted a retreat to review the year’s activities and set new operational guidelines.

“Looking forward, the Commission plans to activate its six zonal liaison offices, encourage the establishment of functional Boundary Committees, and intensify fieldwork and sensitisation efforts,” he said.

When asked on the issue of what the government is doing to explore hydrocarbon deposits in the border areas, Adaji noted that there is a committee that has been set up to look into how both countries can jointly work out an arrangement for the exploration and exploitation of these resources accordingly, for the benefits of their citizens.

He noted that the Commission is doing everything within international laws to appropriately establish the boundary between Nigeria and the Benin Republic.