Leadership (Abuja)
Nigeria: FG, Cameroon to Flag Off Road Project
Bernard Toladi
21
Nigerian and Cameroonian authorities have agreed to flag off the construction of a multi-billion naira road for both countries on June 17.
Nigerian high commissioner to Cameroon, Mr. Philip Dauda, who made this known in Yaounde, said that the formal commencement of the construction of the road would be witnessed by top dignitaries from both countries.
The road, to be financed by the African Development Bank (ADB), will link the South-East of Nigeria with the Southern Cameroon.
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"The distance will cover from Enugu to Abakaliki, crossing the border up to Mutengene in Cameroon. The ceremony would have taken place before now but for the fact that the two countries wanted the event to be celebrated at the highest level.
"It was decided that the commissioning ceremony should not be celebrated by representatives below the rank of ministers," he said.
Dauda noted that apart from easy access and a boost to the economy of both countries, the road would also serve as a confidence building measure.
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He said the relation between Nigeria and Cameroon could be best described as that of "a family living across border. We share very long boundary and the people are the same. We have people of the same tribe living on both sides of the border. All along, we have had very cordial relationships. We had that hitch when we had boundary dispute, which by the wisdom of our leaders had been resolved amicably and we are moving forward," he said.
It could be recalled that both countries contested ownership of the oil -rich Bakassi Peninsula and the International Court of Justice at The Hague decided in favour of Cameroon. Nigeria, in obedience to the judegment, ceded Bakassi to Cameroon.
Dauda said the major challenge of the High Commission was encouraging confidence and cooperation between both countries because of the Bakassi issue.
May 2010
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