Less than two months after his administration willingly handed over Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun, President Umaru Yar’Adua on Tuesday directed the National Boundary Commission to ensure the extension of Nigeria’s continental shelf.
Yar’Adua said an expansion of the country’s borders beyond the current 200 nautical miles would not only “increase the frontiers of our sovereignty but would boost our resource base.”
He gave the directive at the inauguration of the board of the National Boundary Commission and the Governing Council of the National Emergency Management Agency at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The President said, “Specifically, I expect that the NBC board will vigorously pursue the ongoing matter of the extension of Nigeria’s continental shelf beyond the present 200 nautical miles.
“Your commission is expected to come up with dynamic proactive initiatives for the prompt and dynamic determination of all boundary-related matters with a view to effectively boosting peaceful coexistence, engendering inclusiveness, and enhancing the welfare of the people.”
The NBC is charged with the mandate of facilitating the resolution of boundary disputes which may arise between Nigeria and any of her neighbours, or among and between the states, Local Government Areas and the various communities in the country.
Yar’Adua however reassured neighbouring countries that Nigeria was committed to maintaining peaceful coexistence with them.
He cited the resolution of the dispute with Cameroun over the Bakassi Peninsula as an example of Nigeria’s non-aggressive stance.
The President said, “As a cardinal principle of our foreign policy, and consistent with the African Union’s vision of greater integration, Nigeria is irrevocably committed to peaceful coexistence with our neighbours.
“The readiness with which we accepted to execute the decision of the International Court of Justice , which ceded the Bakassi Peninsula (on August 14, 2008) to the Republic of Cameroun, is clear evidence of our abiding faith in the exigency of peace and stability for sustained growth and development on our continent.”
Yar’Adua also directed NEMA’s Governing Council to ensure that it provided prompt response to disasters.
He said, “Central to our Seven Point Agenda is the pursuit of those policies and programmes that guarantee the welfare and wellbeing of all Nigerians.
“We have an obligation not only to ensure the protection of lives and property, but to also ensure speedy, timely, efficient and effective response when natural or man-made disaster strikes. NEMA is the body charged with the mandate of driving this critical obligation.”
The President admitted that NEMA was faced with onerous task but said its council had “the duty of guiding the management of the agency in the direction of productive innovation, higher diligence, more prudence, greater efficiency, and above all, proactive commitment.”
He also stressed that the managements of the NBC and NEMA “must work within the framework of the mandates and policy guidelines as spelt out in the relevant acts establishing them.”
Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, who is the chairman of the two committees, assured that the agencies would not disappoint.
He said the NBC board would immediately direct the commission’s management “to come up with a blueprint on all pending boundary matters” in order to ensure speedy conclusion of all disputes.
Jonathan further noted that the recent air crash involving a Wings Aviation Beechcraft was an eye-opener on the shortcomings in the country’s emergency management system.
Members of the NBC board include the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the ministers of Defence, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Transportation, Energy (Petroleum), and the National Planning Commission, as well as the National Security Adviser.
Others are representatives of the six geopolitical zones in the country and the Inspector-General of Police.
The NEMA governing council includes the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and representatives of the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Health, Transportation, Water Resources, Works and Housing, Army, Police Force, Nigerian Red Cross Society and the National Commission of Women Societies.