Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has said the South East must be revamp to build a common market and bloc to attain an economic power house of the nation.
Mbah emphasised that the South East could no longer afford to operate as five parallel states, and commended President Bola Tinubu for the establishment of the South East Development Commission, SEDC, as a clear demonstration of an understanding that regional development does not occur in isolation.
He spoke as the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, officially declared open the South East Vision 2025 (SEV2025) Regional Stakeholder Forum at the International Conference Centre, ICC, Enugu.
“I am here to invite you to a bold re-imagining of the South East as a single economic bloc. For too long, we have looked at our five states as individual islands, but the era of the solitary path is over.
“Today, I propose the birth of the South East Common Market – a bold, borderless unification of our commerce, our talent, and our industrial grit.
“By fusing our five distinct economies into one powerhouse, we are no longer just negotiating for a seat at the table; we are building the table ourselves.
“This is more than a policy shift; it is the awakening of an economic giant, transforming the South East into a single, seamless theatre of enterprise where our shared heritage fuels our collective prosperity,” he stated.
The event with the theme, ‘’Charting a Shared Path to Sustainable Prosperity for South East Nigeria,” Mbah reminded the audience that the rules of prosperity were changing globally into a new era where those who could organise themselves, integrate their markets, and build systems at scale would rise, while those who could not would remain consumers of other people’s added value.
He described the South East Vision 2050 as an instrument to help the region solve problems that no single state could solve alone.
He, however, said the development plan must be matched with immediate action, starting with a region-wide feasibility and project preparation phase to be jointly funded and governed.
Governor Mbah said: “Second, we must begin with logistics and connectivity, because economies do not integrate on paper, they integrate through movement.
“The South East needs its first deliberately designed interstate logistics corridors, road, rail, inland hubs, and multi-modal systems that allow goods, people, and services to move seamlessly across state lines.
“These are not prestige projects. They are productivity infrastructure, and they must be planned and contracted as regional assets, not state trophies.
“Third, security must be treated as regional infrastructure. Criminal networks do not respect state boundaries, and neither should our response.
“We must commit to enhanced cross regional security coordination, shared intelligence, interoperable communication, and a centralised information and response hub that allows state security architectures and federal agencies to act as one system.
“Fourth, we must align the rules of engagement, investment processes, regulatory expectations, and dispute resolution, so that the South East presents a coherent face to capital, enterprise, and its own citizens.’’
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