The Joint Standing Committee of Experts on Re-demarcation of the Nigeria/Niger International Boundary has held it’s meeting in Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital.
At the meeting, the Director-General of the National Boundary Commission in Nigeria, Adamu Adaji disclosed that the Nigerian Government and the Republic of Niger have re-constructed one hundred and twenty-nine pillars out of one hundred and forty-eight pillars along their border corridors.
He said this was is in order to maintain socio-economic integration and security.
The meeting, which was organised by the National Boundary Commission in Nigeria, was held to assess the progress report on the level of implementation of the resolutions of the previous Meeting of Experts held in 2021 in the Niger Republic.
The DG revealed that six hundred and seventy-nine intermediate pillars have also been reconstructed out of three thousand seven hundred for more visibility and demarcation for border communities.
Cross Border Activities
He said that the Joint Standing Committee of Experts on the Nigeria/Niger International Boundary re-demarcation would continue to carry out cross-border activities in order to achieve a common goal for the benefits of inhabitants of the boundary areas.
The Head of Delegation of the Niger Republic, Bala Pate, noted that Niger Republic was working towards realising the African Union goals on Cross-Border Cooperation which was aimed at promoting cross-border cooperation at the local, subregional and regional level.
He says, “Indeed, the need to maintain a climate of sustainable peace in the border areas and the promotion of cross-border cooperation have led to the adoption of the framework document of the national border policy, which now takes into account all the issues relevant to cross-border governance in order to pool services for the benefit of border populations.
“The adoption of this reference document by the Nigerien authorities is perfectly in line with the spirit and guidelines defined by the African Union Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation, known as the Niamey Convention, adopted in, 2014 during the 23rd ordinary session of the Summit Conference of Heads of State, in Equatorial Guinea, whose number one objective is to promote cross-border cooperation at the local, subregional and regional levels.”
According to Pate, Nigeria was the first ECOWAS country to officially launch the ECOWAS Fund for Cross-Border Cooperation and Free Movement and Migration called the Regional Program for Support to Cross-Border Cooperation (PRACT 2021-2025).
Mr Pate called on both countries to seize the opportunity offered by the PRACT to create cross-border cooperation initiatives in order to develop the cross-border areas into spaces of peace and security for the promotion of sustainable development and cross-border cooperation.
Speaking at the Meeting, Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria-Niger Joint Commission, Adamu Namanta, informed participants that the Nigeria-Niger Border was the only border to have not recorded armed conflict.
He gave an assurance that the border communities of both countries would continue to witness peace and their security will continue to be prioritised.
Confidence Okwuchi
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