…to construct roads to serve as land demarcations

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has waded into the protracted land dispute between the Nigerian Air Force and the Ugondo and Mbaivur communities of Makurdi Local Government Area, LGA, of the state.

The parties have been at loggerheads over the parcel of land occupied by the Nigeria Air Force Tactical Air Command Makurdi, and the effort by the previous administration in the state to have it resolved ended in an impasse.

The Governor who hosted the parties in Government House, Makurdi to seek an amicable resolution of the land dispute, in his address, said it was of utmost importance for him to peacefully resolve the dispute.

He noted that a peaceful resolution of the crisis would no doubt “attract more federal government presence to the state, thereby bringing more development to the state.”

He reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensuring that more development projects were brought to the state to better the lot of the people.

The Governor lauded the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, “for taking steps to ensure that the dispute is amicably resolved.”

Earlier, leader of the Air Force delegation and Air Officer Commanding Tactical Air Command Makurdi, Air Vice Marshal, AVM, Fran Edahosa, stated that the meeting became imperative after similar interventions in the past yielded no positive result.

AVM Edahosa reiterated the determination of the Chief of the Air Staff to have the dispute resolved amicably given Benue’s strategic position in the country.

Responding, the Mue Ter Ugondo, Chief Clement Kurugh, and others lauded the Governor and the Chief of the Air Staff for wading into the land demarcation dispute and expressed hope that the intervention would bring a lasting solution to the dispute.

The Governor thereafter moved the venue of the meeting from Government House to the disputed communities where he inspected the area and promised to construct a road around the communities that would link up to the borders of Makurdi and Gwer-West, and that of Gwer-East with Gboko LGAs to open up the communities and make them more accessible as well as serve as permanent boundary between the natives and the Air Force.