The five South East governors have agreed on the need for regional cooperation in intelligence sharing, infrastructure development, and the formulation of a harmonised integration plan to accelerate the zone’s 50-year development vision

The agreement was highlighted yesterday during the South East Vision 2050 Regional Stakeholders Forum organised by the South East Development Commission (SEDC) in Enugu. Vice President Kashim Shettima, who attended the forum, praised the leaders of the region.

He described Igbo as “the hope of the black race” and emphasised that the South East is vital to Nigeria. Shettima also acknowledged decades of infrastructure deficits in the region, stating that the SEDC was established to address the imbalances.

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, emphasised power integration, saying that with Aba’s geometric power capacity, the South East could be connected to a single power grid. “If we had started the debate earlier, we would have succeeded by now,” he said.

Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, urged the SEDC to prioritise projects critical to the region. These include highway connectivity, a regional railway, a seaport, security and institutional frameworks.

His Ebonyi State counterpart Governor Francis Nwifuru said his state had the capacity to feed the region. Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, on his part, said sustainable regional development requires national support. He said: “We must build a different system, start by thinking differently. We must move from vision to execution, and the direction must be clearly set.”