By Tony Adibe
Stakeholders at a maiden conference held at Toscana Hotel, Enugu on Saturday, gave a target for the Southeast Development Commission on how to develop the geopolitical zone, socially, economically, and otherwise.
The conference, organised by the leadership of Southeast Communities Development Association and Southeast Communities Development Association Cooperative Union (SECDA), was themed: “Our expectations from Southeast Development Commission and Federal Ministry of Regional Development.”
NewsBits reports that the Southeast Communities Development Regional Conference was attended by various dignitaries from across Igboland, including traditional rulers and religious leaders.
This development comes as the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, during the occasion, has called for genuine unity among the Igbos, urging Ndigbo to quickly “put on their thinking caps” to resolve issues affecting the SouthEast zone.
Represented by Barrister Michael Ani on the occasion, Kalu said that the Igbo could use the opportunity provided by the SEDC to come together, unite, and disprove the wrong notion people have that Igbos are not united.
He assured the organisers of maximum support from the commission as both the SEDC and the organizers are partners for the progress and development of SouthEast.
The communique reached at the end of the Conference urged SEDC leadership to focus its attention on “construction and rehabilitation of federal roads in the zone and to also ensure that airports and seaports in the zone are brought to international standard and made viable.”
Also, the communique advised SEDC to encourage industrialization of the Southeast in order to provide jobs for its youth by strengthening Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to grow. To enable Igbo communities to grow socially and economically, SEDC was advised to set aside some of their funds and give them to the communities through SECDA.
The Conference further encouraged SEDC to strengthen the security network of the zone to ensure that the zone is secured against crimes and terrorism, which are real threats to investment and industrialization. The National Coordinator of SECDA, Engr. Isidore Ehochi, in his keynote address, advised SEDC to see SECDA as partners in progress in achieving their objectives
According to Ehochi, “SECDA belongs to all the communities of the region and by implementation, all the people of the region. Given this, we are also making a special appeal to the leadership of the Southeast Development Commission to formally adopt SECDA as one of its useful community-based organisations for the implementation of some of its programmes that are targeted at the grassroots.”
However, Ehochi, on behalf of his group, expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and the federal government for the creation of the Commission, which he observed was long overdue.
Also speaking on the occasion, a former minister of information, Chief John Nnia Nwodo said that the conference would serve as a wake up call, “for all of us to support and advise the South East Development Commission to produce an agenda that will support our state governments, the federal and our many enterprising industrialists.”
Represented by Godson Onuzulike, President, Potters Foundation, Nwodo, who was one-time President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, stressed that Agriculture was an area the Commission should look into. He added that “if Agriculture is mechanized, it will engage our youths and women productively and activate our latent potentialities.”
Nwodo said: “Our Palm trees are mega in their capacity to generate nuts and oil, heavily demanded in the international market and longings to be used by our industrialists in the production of other products like butter, and shells for rural roads.”
