Speaking during the courtesy call held at Itigidi, the Abi council headquarters, the National President of the Ebonyi and Cross River Youth Peace Development Movement, Barrister Paschal Nwenyi disclosed the organisation's plan to celebrate a 5-year ceasefire by the then crisis-ridden border communities of the two states.
He informed the Head of the local government area and the staff that the organisation had paid a peace and security advocacy visit to the Cross-State government at Calabar.
He noted that the peace movement
team has also visited Iyala and Obubra among other local government council authorities in Cross River and their Ebonyi counterparts, to inform them of the favourable actions of the Youth Movement and emphasised the need to embrace peace within the riverine border communities of both states.
Barrister Nwenyi commended the stakeholders of Cross River and Ebonyi States for their efforts so far in actualizing the dream of promoting peace in the crisis-ridden areas and enumerated some of their achievements.
According to him, the peace movement team has attracted eight open shops from the federal government at Achacha Igbeagu where other communities have begun to sell their wares despite their past rift.
Nwenyi handed over the communique raised by the movement with the federal government to the Head of the Local Government Area and appealed for his support to celebrate the 5-year ceasefire program between the two sister states.
Responding, the Head of the Abi Local Government Area, Egim Ubio commended the members of the Youth Peace Development Movement for their bold step in fostering peace in crisis-prone areas in Ebonyi and Cross States, especially at their border communities.
He recalled that the two states had witnessed massive destruction of both lives and property because of border conflict and nobody would be encouraged to entertain hostility instead of enduring peace to enhance their socio-economic vigour and artistic heredity.
While advising the communities affected by the crisis to embrace the ceasefire spirit, Ubio recommended that the peace movement team should enlarge their circle and ensure constant contact to discourage any form of hostilities in the border areas of the two states.
Recall that the Head of Abi Council Area was accompanied by the Council DSO, Wilfred Okpa and other staff but the President of the Peace team was chaperoned by the Treasurer of the organisation - Declan Ovuna, Mr Sunday Eni - the Youth leader of the Adadama community in Cross River and Mr Joshua Ojobo - Youth Leader of Ijibollo in Cross River, among others.
They equally called for the general public's support for the successful celebration of the already-proclaimed ceasefire occasion for the border communities of the two states in the interest of stimulating stability among the citizens in the areas.
