Augustine Okezie, Katsina
Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State has called on the National Boundaries Commission, NBC, to hasten the demarcation of the remaining five percent boundary lines between Katsina and Jigawa and the boundary with Zamfara state.
Masari who made the call during a joint meeting of officials on Jigawa/Katsina interstate boundary led by the Director-General, National Boundary Commission, Surveyor Adamu Adaji, to the Government House Katsina, said quick conduct of the exercise will enable the state to reap the benefits of its inherent abundant natural resources.
He further observed that proper demarcation was necessary considering increased competition on land as a result of the increase in population and the availability of natural resources.
He said “if the states are properly demarcated, it would give each state the opportunity to harness the deposits of the natural resources in each state.
‘’We are particularly interested also in the boundary between Katsina and Zamfara, because of the availability of natural resources in the area.
‘’We are really interested because a lot of discoveries of natural resources are done along the boundaries, as most of the proceeds go to Zamfara instead of Katsina.
“We are equally interested in knowing which part of the area falls in Katsina or Zamfara state to enable us to harnesses our own natural resources.”
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The Governor further added that his administration had established a mining company and secured eight licenses to explore all available natural resources in the state.
He, therefore, called for a meeting involving all stakeholders and custodians of history and culture, as well as the traditional institutions who knows every inch of the land in resolving all outstanding boundary issues with the states earlier mentioned
Earlier, the DG, NBC, told the Governor that they were in the state in furtherance of efforts towards the definition of the Jigawa/Katsina interstate boundary issue.
Adaji added that during the previous meetings, he had discussed the reports, noting that the outcome of the tracing showed that Katsina and Jigawa states had agreed on a single boundary line in about 95 percent of the entire boundary length.
He said, “Today’s meeting is therefore expected to receive the report of the work of the traditional rulers and ratify their decision and also plan for the permanent demarcation of the boundary on the ground.”
