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From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu
Following it’s resolve to enhance and achieve a unified economic bloc for the South East, the South East Development Commission (SEDC) will on Tuesday unveil the South East Vision 2050.
The event which will take place during South East Vision 2050 Stakeholders Regional Forum which kicks off today (Tuesday) at the International Conference Centre,Enugu is expected to have in attendance, the Vice President, Kashim Shetima and illustrious sons and daughters of the South East.
Briefing newsmen with some Executive Directors of the Commission Monday, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of SEDC, Hon. Mike Okoye expressed the willingness of the Commission to take the South East to greater heights.
Okoye said the long-term development blueprint initiative is aimed at addressing decades-long infrastructure deficits, ecological challenges, and economic fragmentation in the South East.
He said, “By law, the Commission was created to address infrastructure challenges in the Southeast dating back to the civil war era, as well as ecological issues, while also developing a long-term regional master plan in partnership with state and non-state actors.”
The Vision 2050 forum, themed “Charting a Shared Path to Sustainable Prosperity for the Southeast,” he told newsmen was the outcome of extensive engagements of the Commission with South East governors and over 250 federal government agencies.
Okoye stressed that although the Commission was yet to receive funding for project, it has developed robust ideas and frameworks to drive development and is determined not to rely solely on government funding.
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He expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for establishing the Commission decades after the end of the civil war, describing it as a critical step toward addressing historical development gaps in the region.
The forum he noted would bring together a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including state governments, the organized private sector, youth groups, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, development partners, commissioners for budget and planning, and the Ministry of Regional Development.
The SEDC boss revealed that at least 73 South East indigenes from the diaspora would participate in the forum, while technical sessions would focus on agriculture, food security, energy, industrialization, and youth employment.
Key proposals for discussion includes, regional gas pipeline project aimed at ensuring energy security, boosting industrial growth, and creating jobs for young people.
Also, a comprehensive policy document would be produced within six weeks after the forum, he assured adding that the Commission’s interventions would complement—not replace—existing state-level development efforts.
He said, “We have clear designs and plans for the Southeast. What we need now is sustained collaboration and funding support to move from planning to execution.”
Further oon the roadmap he said, “We took it to the Board, a team member board with membership from across all the regions in the country and also representation from all the states in the region. Our chairman, Emeka Nwogu and a host of other very distinguished persons. The Board also took that strategic roadmap. We presented it and they approved it.
“Captured in that roadmap was a very extensive stakeholder engagement exercise. Stakeholder engagement exercise? Why? Because prior to February 10, the agency did not exist. There was no infrastructure in place, no office, no staff. What you see is the pioneer staff of the agency. So you can call yourself M.D. SEDC, but the question is of what? Where are you? Who are you? What are you looking to achieve?”
