Gov’s aide donates relief materials to displaced communities in Cross River

The Permanent Secretary Special Services, Governor’s office Calabar, Dr. Alfred Mboto on Monday donated foods and other items to communities in Osopong wards one and two of Obubra Local Government Area of Cross River.

Speaking at the occasion, Mboto said he was moved by the plight of the people who were displaced as a result of the crisis between them and their neighboring communities in Ebonyi state.

“I am deeply touched by your condition and for sometimes now it has been a source of concern to me, ” he said.

He called on the International Community to intervene so that peace can return to the affected communities. He commended Gov. Ben Ayade for his quick and prompt interventions in such crises, adding that it shows he has the interest of the people at heart.

Mboto noted with dissatisfaction that the National Boundary Commission (NBC) saddled with the responsibility of tracing and retracing boundaries was yet to complete the retracing of boundarss in Cross River.

According to him, the commission only started and ended at Yala and Obudu Local Government Areas respectively, hence the continued crises in other troubled spots.

The permanent Secretary said the gesture was purely on humanitarian grounds and cautioned against using it to score a political point or associate him with it.

He promised to continue to engage relevant stakeholders to address the teething problem that has bedeviled the people of the communities this long.

In his remark, Deputy Leader of Obubra legislative council and councillor representing Osopong ward one, Hon. Onagha Anthony thanked the donor for the gesture.

He added that the communities had lived together peacefully before the recent invasion by their neighbors.

Some of the displaced persons appealed to the State Government to come to their aid as they had become homeless and no longer safe in their lands. Some of the affected communities are Eja, Ijutum, Apiapum-tet, Idoru 1 and 2.