Calabar — Cross River State Government has said it is collaborating with the Niger Delta Ministry to build an ultra-modern town for people displaced in the wake of the hand-over of Bakassi Peninsula to the Republic of Cameroon.

Director General of the State Border Commission, Mr. Leo Aggrey, disclosed this in Calabar, yesterday, while briefing newsmen that the new town will be located at Day Spring I and II, and Qua Islands in Cross River.He said the choice of the location took into consideration the fact that most of the returnees were fishermen, hence the need to resettle them where they could engage in their traditional occupation.

Aggrey noted that most of the returnees could not adapt to the present resettlement camp at Ekpri Ikang because they were not used to living in landlocked area.According to him, "The three Ikang wards that were severed to be the New Bakassi, if you go to the camps, you only see women and children.

"The men are all looking for a seaward end for their fishing. They are not too comfortable coming on land, they prefer staying at the fringes of the water.

"The state government, working with the Niger Delta Ministry, is working on a consummate planned town with all the facilities, schools, hospitals, police posts and every other all modern facility. They have also identified the left flank of this location to be their ancestral home. That is where the communities want to be settled because it is seaward and convenient for them".

He also said his Commission is collaborating with other relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies to have an alternative modern fish farm for the Bakassi people.

Aggrey however expressed dismay that Cross River State was left alone to bear the burden of resettling the Bakassi returnees even when the loss of the Peninsula was not caused by the State.

"The Bakassi imbroglio which led to the ICJ judgement is now a problem to contend with and the entire burden has been left for the state to bear. Cross River cannot carry the Bakassi burden alone. The State Emergency Management Agency is doing well, but it is not enough."

The National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA) the Refugee Commission have to come to our aid. The refugees are not only Cross Riverians, they are Nigerians", he said.

He also said it is unfortunate that the loss of Bakassi has also negatively affected the revenue profile of the State through the loss of some oil wells.

He called on the Federal Government and other agencies to come to the aid of the returnees and the State.