Nigeria’s south-south governors have reiterated their resolve to collectively build a stronger regional economic bloc anchored on infrastructure connectivity, investment mobilisation, maritime development and industrialisation.
The governors also agreed to effect the much needed economic development of the region in partnership with the Nigerian Government for the benefits of citizens.
The resolutions were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the South-South Governors’ Forum held in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State under the chairmanship of Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State.
In the communiqué, the governors identified regional rail development, the rehabilitation and modernisation of the Calabar, Port Harcourt and Warri seaports as well as the economic opportunities offered by the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as strategic priorities.
The governors also resolved to “engage President Bola Tinubu on critical south-south concerns, particularly infrastructure and environmental development,” while reaffirming their commitment to his re-election in 2027, promising to give him total support.
READ ALSO: Nigeria Commits to Enhancing South-South Economic Cooperation
The forum also resolved to pursue a broader regional investment strategy, following a presentation by the Director-General of the BRACED (an acronym for Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta states) Commission, Ambassador Joe Keshi, on the significance of a regional infrastructure such as rail development.
Meanwhile, the host of the meeting, the Cross River State Governor and Vice Chairman of the Forum, Senator Bassey Otu, said the region’s ability to secure meaningful development depended on the extent to which its states could speak and act collectively.
Governor Otu called for a unified position on fiscal equity, particularly Value Added Tax, oil and gas revenues and the 13 per cent derivation benchmark.
He also proposed a regional corridor that would link the proposed Bakassi Deep Seaport in Calabar to the East-West road and others seaports within the region as well as calling for agricultural integration.
During an earlier remark, the chairman of the forum, Governor Diri noted that despite the contribution to Nigeria’s economy, the south-south must move beyond resolutions to implementation through coordinated actions on infrastructure, transportation, security, environmental remediation and economic integration.
Diri said, “the south-south must deliberately position itself as Nigeria’s gas-industrial hub, West Africa’s maritime gateway and the country’s leading blue-economy zone.
“We cannot continue to produce the wealth, while communities remain surrounded by environmental devastation. We are calling for expanded remediation across the Niger Delta,” he stated.
