Ebonyi Community Attack: VP Shettima Applauds Nwifuru’s Efforts At Restoring Peace

Vice President Kashim Shettima has applauded Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, for his efforts in restoring peace following the Oso-Edda/Amasiri crisis in the state.

He described Governor Nwifuru’s handling of the crisis as mature and unbiased, expressing confidence that the approach would bring lasting peace to the affected communities.

The Vice President made this known while speaking at the Vision 2050 South-East Stakeholders’ Forum, themed “Charting a Shared Vision for Sustainable Prosperity for the South-East,” held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu.

Shettima called on the people of the South-East to leverage the region’s vast mineral deposits to drive industrialisation, noting that the Federal Government remains committed to regional development anchored on aligning national policy, resources, and political will in support of the South-East Vision 2050.

READ ALSO: Gov Nwifuru Sacks Commissioner, Withdraws Monarch’s Certificate Over Ebonyi Killings

According to him, the South-East is strategic to the Federal Government’s development initiatives because of the region’s entrepreneurial spirit. He urged leaders in the region to galvanise support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Speaking on the topic, “Feeding and Building the South-East Region for Agro- and Solid Minerals–Led Industrialisation,” Governor Nwifuru said Ebonyi State is deliberately working towards harnessing its rich mineral resources to drive national development in general and the South-East region in particular.

The governor expressed gratitude for the President’s vision for the federating units, especially the South-East, as demonstrated by the creation of the South-East Development Commission (SEDC).

“Ebonyi State is richly endowed with lead, zinc, limestone, salt, and granite. Under a reform-oriented approach, we will shift emphasis towards formal licensing, investor screening, community engagement, and the explicit goal of linking extraction to local processing,” he said.

“Our roadmap is anchored on the strategic vision of establishing at least two cement factories. We are actualising this vision because of our proximity to cement raw materials such as limestone and gypsum.”

He added that the state is also working towards processing lead and zinc to support metal fabrication, as well as developing salt resources to supply the food processing and chemical industries.

Governor Nwifuru commended the organisers of the forum for the initiative and called on his fellow governors to support the full actualisation of the Vision 2050 agenda.