30 October 2012, Sweetcrude LAGOS – LAGOS and Ogun State governments say they are committed to a peaceful resolution of a boundary dispute over Ode Omi, an oil and gas-rich community, located in Ibeju-Lekki of Lagos State.
They want the National Boundary Commission, NBC, to determine which of the states the community belongs to.
They made their position known in a communiqué, which the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) and his Ogun State counterpart, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, jointly issued after a meeting on the boundary issues between the two states.
The communiqué said the outstanding issues in respect of Sector C, specifically Ode Omi, “will be addressed at a later date. In the meantime, the two states agreed to maintain the status quo and await the determination by the Commission.”
Prior to the meeting last week in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the Lagos State government had laid claim to more than 70 per cent of the oil and gas-rich community, which borders Ogun State on the eastern part of the state.
On a visit to the community early this year, the Commissioner for Rural Development, Hon. Cornelius Ojelabi, said a survey conducted in 1983 during the administration of ex-Governor Lateef Jakande “shows that over 70 per cent of Ode Omi belongs to Lagos State.
According to the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the two governors deliberated on matters of mutual interests such as those bordering on land and taxation.
It was also agreed that the deputy governors of the two states would soon commence the joint signposting of the boundaries that have been agreed upon by the two states.
