By Dianabasi Effiong
The South-South Governors’ Forum has resolved to build a stronger regional economic bloc anchored on infrastructure connectivity, investment mobilisation, maritime development, industrialisation, and coordinated engagement with the Federal Government.
The resolution formed the thrust of the communiqué issued at the end of the second meeting of the South-South Governors’ Forum, held in Calabar, Cross River State, on Monday, with Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa as Chairman.
The South-South governors also resolved to ensure that the region’s enormous economic potential becomes a resource for tangible prosperity for the people of the area.
The governors identified regional rail development, the rehabilitation and modernisation of the Calabar, Port Harcourt, and Warri seaports, and the economic opportunities offered by the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as strategic priorities.
They also resolved to engage President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on critical South-South concerns, particularly infrastructure and environmental development, while reaffirming their commitment to his re-election in 2027 with “100 per cent” support from the region.
The Forum further resolved to institutionalise its activities through quarterly meetings, with Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, scheduled to host the next meeting from Nov. 6 to Nov 8.
The communiqué also embraced a broader regional investment strategy, reflecting the presentation by the Director-General of the BRACED Commission, Ambassador Joe Keshi, on efforts to advance regional infrastructure, particularly rail development.
The PANDEF National Chairman, Ambassador Godknows Igali, had called for a regional investment fund capable of mobilising capital for projects that transcend individual state boundaries, while also urging the governors to place young people at the centre of the region’s economic transformation. The emerging agenda, therefore, seeks to move the South-South from isolated state-level initiatives towards an integrated economic space driven by shared infrastructure, investment, and value chains.
The host Governor, Sen. Bassey Otu of Cross River, who is also Vice Chairman of the Forum, said the region’s ability to secure meaningful development depended on the extent to which its states could speak and act collectively.
“We must come together as a people; we must cooperate, and we must ensure that our voice is heard and respected,” he said.
He added that the South-South had “everything it takes” to become one of Nigeria’s most formidable economic blocs, provided that the states could overcome fragmentation and harness their resources within a common regional framework.
Otu called for a unified regional position on fiscal equity, particularly Value Added Tax, oil and gas revenues, and the 13 per cent derivation benchmark.
He also sought the Forum’s support for Cross River’s campaign to regain its oil-producing status, describing the issue as part of the state’s broader quest for greater economic opportunity.
On infrastructure, he proposed a regional corridor linking the Bakassi Deep Seaport in Calabar with the East-West Road and the ports of Bayelsa and Delta, while advocating greater integration of the region’s agricultural economies.
He said, “We must begin to look beyond the exploitation of raw resources.”
Otu also urged the region to embrace value addition, industrial processing, and job creation, particularly through cassava production, processing, and ethanol development.
Diri, in his opening remarks, insisted that the Forum must distinguish itself through implementation rather than rhetoric.
“We cannot afford to remain a region of meetings and communiqués,” he said, stressing that “the meeting must produce movement”.
He urged that the decisions reached must translate into measurable progress.
He said that the South-South, in spite of its enormous contribution to Nigeria’s economy, could no longer afford fragmented approaches to inherently regional challenges.
“We must move beyond resolutions to implementation,” he said, adding that coordinated action was required on infrastructure, transportation, security, environmental remediation, and economic integration.
Diri emphasised on connectivity as the foundation for regional economic transformation.
He called for accelerated development of road, rail, air, and maritime infrastructure, including the East-West Road, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, and regional rail networks. 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.”
He also drew attention to the region’s environmental burden, arguing that a region that serves as a major economic engine of Nigeria should not simultaneously bear the disproportionate consequences of ecological degradation.
According to him, the region cannot continue to produce wealth while communities remain surrounded by environmental devastation.
He also called for expanded remediation across the Niger Delta.
The governors, who linked economic development with security and environmental sustainability, added that investment would not flourish where communities, waterways, and critical infrastructure remained vulnerable.
The Forum called for stronger intelligence-sharing and coordinated security operations to protect communities, oil and gas assets, and economic corridors across the six states of the South-South.
The governors also stressed the importance of environmental restoration, reflecting what Diri described as the need to confront the contradiction of a region that sustains Nigeria’s economy while suffering severe ecological and developmental consequences.
The Forum also resolved to throw its weight behind President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 and to seek direct engagement with him on the region’s development priorities.
