By ONYEJE ABUTU-JOEL

Benue House of Assembly has directed Benue Boundary Adjustment Commission, to urgently carry out boundary adjustments to avert the looming crisis between two communities in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the people of Mbayegh and Usar, in Ushongo and Kwande local government areas (LGAs) respectively, had been at loggerheads over a boundary dispute.

The directive followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Mr Simon Gabo (Mata/APC) during plenary on Tuesday in Makurdi.

Gabo noted that the protracted crisis between the two council wards, had resulted in significant loss of lives, including that of a police officer in 1993.

He noted that contentious area was even proposed for the establishment of an immigration center to promote development and prevent the recurrent conflict.

The assemblyman however, expressed concern that the proposal for the establishment of the immigration center might be denied because of the continuous crisis.

Gabo therefore, appealed to his colleagues to support the motion, pointing out that the boundary adjustment between the two council wards had become imperative to stop the conflict.

Seconding the motion, Mr Alfred Emberga (Kwande West/APC) faulted the Boundary Adjustment Commission for ignoring the consistent calls by the assembly to carry out the boundary adjustment.

After a unanimous support of the motion by members, the Speaker, Mr Hyacinth Dajoh, appealed to Gov. Hyacinth Alia to direct the Commissioner of Police in the state to send a detachment unit to the area to avert further crisis.

Dajoh also urged the commissioner to send more police officers to Ushongo Divisional Police Station, which currently had only two police officers covering more than 10 communities. (NAN)

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