The demarcation of the land borders between Cameroon and Nigeria, which started on 14 December, is at a standstill because of the difficulties of converting dollars into the Nigerian national currency, the naira, APA learned Wednesday from corroborating sources.
Two weeks after the start of the border demarcation exercise, the funds allocated by the UN for the construction of the boundary markers have not been converted into Nigerian currency, thus blocking the fieldwork.
This situation means that only 37 out of the 120 markers have been constructed, an official of the Environmental Resources Service (ERS), the Nigerian company responsible for the construction, told APA.
“We are blocked by the bank which must convert the dollars sent by the UN. We cannot progress without any naira,” he said.
This situation brings up a lot of speculation particularly in Cameroon, where it is difficult to understand “that a company that earns this type of deal is unable to pre-finance it.”
According to the timetable, 123 markers should be constructed within two weeks, thus enabling the demarcation of the Lake Chad area.
The demarcation of the 2000km Nigeria-Cameroon border will require the installation of 3,000 markers, according to estimates by the two countries’ joint committee.
The UN Secretary General’s envoy attended the launch of the work on 14 December in Mora in the far north of Cameroon.
It should be recalled that Nigeria and Cameroon had a 15-year border dispute, after the Nigerian army occupied the Bakassi Peninsula (south-west).
Cameroon, which had brought the issue before the United Nations, won the case after a verdict of The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2002.
Since then, Nigeria withdrew its troops, while the two countries, under UN supervision and witness-states like Germany, the United States, France and Great Britain, began the normalization process.
Source African Press Agency
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