Enugu, Nigeria — The Governor of Ebonyi State has called for a binding regional development compact anchored on agriculture and solid minerals as key drivers of industrialisation in the Southeast, as leaders of the region gathered for the Southeast Vision 2050 Regional Stakeholders’ Forum in Enugu.
Delivering the keynote address at the forum, themed “Feeding and Building the Southeast: A Regional Strategy for Agro and Solid Minerals-Led Industrialisation,” the governor said the Southeast must move beyond policy discussions to decisive action that delivers measurable economic outcomes.
The event, described as historic, brought together all governors of the Southeast, alongside the Vice President of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Vice President announced presidential approval for the establishment of the South East Investment Company Limited, a vehicle designed to mobilise funding from the diaspora, capital markets, and development finance institutions.
According to the Ebonyi governor, the Southeast possesses vast agricultural and mineral resources that, if properly harnessed and processed locally, can guarantee food security, create jobs, and enhance export competitiveness. He cited Ebonyi State’s experience in agricultural modernisation, agro-processing, rural infrastructure development, land reforms, mechanisation, and solid mineral utilisation as practical examples of how sub-national leadership can stimulate regional growth.
The forum also featured the unveiling of South-East Vision 2050, a 25-year development blueprint aimed at steering the region away from short-term governance cycles toward a coordinated, long-term economic agenda.
In his address, the governor proposed a binding Southeast regional compact under Vision 2050, prioritising agriculture and solid minerals as industrial inputs, shared infrastructure in energy, logistics and digital systems, youth and women inclusion in industrialisation, environmental sustainability, community participation, and policy continuity beyond political administrations.
“Vision 2050 must not be another aspirational document,” he said, stressing that the framework should be judged by collective accountability, clear benchmarks, and courageous execution.
He concluded that with unity of purpose and disciplined policy coordination, the Southeast can feed itself, industrialise its raw materials, employ its growing youth population, and compete effectively within Nigeria and the global economy.
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