Governors of the South-South and South East geo-political zones on Sunday
\nmet at Government House Port Harcourt where they\u00a0 discussed regional and
\neconomic integration to enhance\u00a0 the development\u00a0 of the area\u00a0 .<\/p>\n
In attendance\u00a0 are:\u00a0 Chairman of the South-South and South-East Governors
\nForum and Akwa Ibom Governor, Udom Emmanuel, Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike
\nof Rivers State, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Governor Dave
\nUmahi of Ebonyi State, Governor Rochas Okorocha\u00a0 of Imo State and Governor
\nOkezie Ikpeazu of Abia State<\/p>\n
Others in attendance include: Acting\u00a0 Governor of Bayelsa State, Rear
\nAdmiral\u00a0 Gboribiogha John Jonah , Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Dr
\nNkem Okeke, Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Edo State Deputy
\nGovernor, Philip Shaibu and Cross River State , Prof. Ivara Esu.<\/p>\n
In his welcome\u00a0 address, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike stated
\nthat the people of the two geo-political\u00a0 zones have always shared common
\nheritage\u00a0 and affinity.<\/p>\n
He said: “Even in contemporary Nigeria, we still share the same or similar
\nchallenges, including insecurity, poverty and under-development despite
\nthe best of efforts by the constituent State governments. Today, the two
\nregions are the most politically and economically marginalized within the
\nnation, environmentally degraded and deliberated neglected by the federal
\ngovernment in appointments and provisions of basic development
\ninfrastructures.”<\/p>\n
The governor noted that none of the airports and seaports located in the
\nregions is reasonably functional, while\u00a0 the few federal roads are not in
\ngood shape, neither are the two regions linked by any rail services.<\/p>\n
Governor Wike said: “From geo-strategic economic perspective therefore,
\nthere is an urgent need to establish and link our cities with railways and
\nsuper highways; to provide viable and affordable flight services between
\nour cities, and to ensure that cargoes are brought into the country and
\nthe regions through our seaports, jetties and ferry services as a
\nveritable means of stimulating economic growth and social progress across
\nour two regions.<\/p>\n
“Also, we are all aware that economic growth and social progress are
\npossible only in a peaceful and secure environment. And much as we try to
\ntackle this menace in our respective States by providing the necessary
\nlogistic support to the security agencies, perceptions of insecurity are
\non the rise, doing significant damage to our investment climate thereby
\npreventing reasonable inflow of direct foreign and local investment into
\nthe regions.”<\/p>\n
He said as neighbours, the two regions
\nmust strive to overcome challenges\u00a0 through regional efforts by sharing
\nresources, intelligence and denying sanctuaries to criminal elements in
\nthe areas.<\/p>\n
According to him: “As we go into the business of this meeting, let us be
\nconfident in the rightness of our course and clear in our considerations
\nthat we have been and would continue to be worse off without the will to
\nexploit our political and economic complementarities to drive our ways
\ninto political, economic and social prosperity.<\/p>\n
“Above all, we must continue to demand for the devolution of powers and
\nresources to the states as well as the institutionalization of State
\nPolice, now that there is national consensus on these issues.”<\/p>\n
Chairman of the South-South and South-East Governors Forum and Akwa Ibom
\nGovernor, Udom Emmanuel urged the governors of the two regions to form a
\ncommon front for socio-economic\u00a0 development.<\/p>\n
He described\u00a0 the meeting as a new beginning\u00a0 for\u00a0 the two geo-political
\nzones for the\u00a0 good of\u00a0 her people.<\/p>\n
The governor\u00a0 expressed delight that\u00a0 the governors\u00a0 have set aside
\nimpediments\u00a0 to chart a new direction. He charged the two regions to work
\ntogether for prosperity\u00a0 .<\/p>\n
He said: “Federal presence in the\u00a0 region is minimal and only seen in the
\npresence\u00a0 of policemen”.<\/p>\n
He called for the development\u00a0 of\u00a0 an industrial\u00a0 framework\u00a0 that will
\nenhance\u00a0 development.\u00a0 He said the regions are better of united than
\ndivided.<\/p>\n
He pleaded with Nigerians to continue to strive for the\u00a0 unity of the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Governors of the South-South and South East geo-political zones on Sunday met at Government House Port Harcourt where they\u00a0 discussed regional and economic integration to enhance\u00a0 the development\u00a0 of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n