Inyali Peter|6 March 2017
A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Mr. Odey Ochicha has called on Cross River and Akwa Ibom states Government to urgently look for solutions to the reccurring communal clashes between the Ikot Offiong and Oku Iboku communities.
Ochicha who stated this in a statement issued in Calabar expressed worry over the less attention given to the crisis by government of the two sister states.
He added that, it was a a shame that successive governments have failed to resolve the boundary issues between the communities who should ordinarily live as one family.
It will be recalled that the two communities have been at war with each other in the past few weeks resulting in loss of lives and destruction of properties worth millions of naira.
The APC chieftain who was the Cross River state governorship candidate of the party in 2015 elections added that the crisis is affecting the economic growth of the two states as people no longer move freely along the Calabar-Itu road for their businesses.
He advised the warring communities to sheath their swords and embrace peace in their best interest.
According to him, "I want to call for peaceful coexistence between the people of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States. We have a long history and it's almost impossible to write a complete historical background of the two states without mentioning either state.
"Government may look at it as a mere disagreement between the two communities but it has gone beyond that. The crisis is affecting the relationship between the two sister states therefore limiting the economic opportunities and the benefits they stand to get if they work together".
He maintained that, "No state, rich or poor can survive in isolation. The survival of every state is always contingent to another so the spate of communal clashes between Cross River and Akwa Ibom communities is shameful and both governments must find a lasting solution to this challenge.
"Now we're agitating that the South South region should build an integrated economy. But how can this be achieved when we're constantly at war with each other? So,there must be urgent solution to this problem. It will be in our best interest to continue to live together as one united family".
Inyali Peter
Writes from Calabar
