At South-East Vision 2050 Blueprint Launch, Shettima Says Region Central Pillar of Nigeria’s Economic Future

• Gov Mbah proclaims South-east can’t afford to operate as 5 parallel actors

• Lauds Tinubu for SEDC, calls it catalyst for regional devt

Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Gideon Arinze in Enugu

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday launched a 25-year development blueprint for the South-east region, saying the region is a central pillar of Nigeria’s economic future.

Shettima also announced that President Bola Tinubu had approved the establishment of the South East Investment Company Limited, designed to mobilise resources from the diaspora, capital markets, and development finance institutions for the region’s development.

Speaking during the South-East Vision 2050 Regional Stakeholders’ Forum in Enugu, the vice president said the gathering was a decisive break from short-term governance cycles towards a structured, multi-decade development framework.

At the event, Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, declared the South-east must be reimagined and built into a common market and economic bloc in order to realise its potential as an economic power house.

Mbah emphasised the South-east could no longer afford to operate as five parallel states, commending Tinubu for the establishment of South East Development Commission (SEDC). He said it was a clear demonstration of an understanding that regional development never occurred in isolation.

Mbah spoke on Wednesday as Shettima, officially declared open the South East Vision 2025 (SEV2025) Regional Stakeholder Forum at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Enugu.

Shettima, stated, “This forum reflects foresight, responsibility, and a shared understanding that the future is not something we wait for, but something we must deliberately design.

“In recognition of the distinctive character of the South-East, its entrepreneurial spirit, its global diaspora, and its long-standing relationship with international capital, President Bola Tinubu approved the establishment of the South East Investment Company Limited.”

According to Shettima, the company will work in synergy with the South-East Development Commission (SEDC) to address post-war infrastructure gaps and drive long-term regional competitiveness.

The vice president reaffirmed that SEDC was conceived to focus on structural transformation rather than routine administrative activity, insisting that Nigeria is strongest when its regions thrive.

He stated, “Let me be clear. This is not another layer of bureaucracy. It is a delivery institution, focused on tangible outcomes that translate into jobs, productivity, and growth.”

Shettima said the South-east carried a unique historical burden, which made deliberate regional planning both urgent and necessary.

He praised the inclusive nature of the forum, which brought together federal and state governments, traditional institutions, the private sector, civil society, and development partners.

He also acknowledged the presence of Umu Igbo Unite, a United States–based network of over 10,000 young professionals, saying, “The future of the South-east will be built both at home and abroad, together.”

Addressing the youth directly, the vice president insisted that development must produce concrete results.

He said, “To the young people of the South-East and of Nigeria as a whole, let me speak plainly. You are not spectators in our national journey. You are central to it. Your energy, creativity, and ambition are essential to the Nigeria we are working to build.

“Development must not remain an abstract promise. It must be felt in the daily lives of our people.”

Mbah, proposing the birth of South East Common Market, declared, “I am here to invite you to a bold re-imagining of the South East as a single economic bloc. For too long, we have looked at our five states as individual islands, but the era of the solitary path is over.

“Today, I propose the birth of the South East Common Market – a bold, borderless unification of our commerce, our talent, and our industrial grit.”

The governor said, “By fusing our five distinct economies into one powerhouse, we are no longer just negotiating for a seat at the table; we are building the table ourselves.

“This is more than a policy shift; it is the awakening of an economic giant, transforming the South East into a single, seamless theatre of enterprise where our shared heritage fuels our collective prosperity.”

At the event, themed, “Charting a Shared Path to Sustainable Prosperity for South East Nigeria,” Mbah reminded the audience that the rules of prosperity were changing globally into a new era where those who could organise themselves, integrate their markets, and build systems at scale would rise, while those who could not, would remain consumers of other people’s added value.

He described South East Vision 2050 as an instrument to help the South-east to solve problems that no single state could solve alone.

He said the development plan must be matched with immediate action, starting with a region-wide feasibility and project preparation phase to be jointly funded and governed.

Mbah stated, “Second, we must begin with logistics and connectivity, because economies do not integrate on paper, they integrate through movement.

“The South East needs its first deliberately designed interstate logistics corridors, road, rail, inland hubs, and multi-modal systems that allow goods, people, and services to move seamlessly across state lines.

“These are not prestige projects. They are productivity infrastructure, and they must be planned and contracted as regional assets, not state trophies.

“Third, security must be treated as regional infrastructure. Criminal networks do not respect state boundaries, and neither should our response.”

He added, “We must commit to enhanced cross regional security coordination, shared intelligence, interoperable communication, and a centralised information and response hub that allows state security architectures and federal agencies to act as one system.

“Fourth, we must align the rules of engagement, investment processes, regulatory expectations, and dispute resolution, so that the South East presents a coherent face to capital, enterprise, and its own citizens.”

The governor stated that it was regrettable that a region where identity was common, and where markets connected producers and buyers across distances, and where cooperation was understood as logic, and life worked by collaboration still suffered fragmentation.

He said, “That fragmentation is no longer a historical footnote. It has become a present-day constraint. The world we are operating in now is unforgiving of disconnection and lack of unity. The global economy does not reward isolated effort.

“It rewards regions that can act as systems, regions that can coordinate infrastructure, align skills with industry, move goods efficiently, mobilise capital at scale, and present a clear, credible proposition to investors and their own people.”

The governor explained regarding the South-east, “What it has lacked, until now, is a shared system strong enough to hold those strengths together.

“Vision 2050 is our chance to build that system as a framework for action, not for someday, but starting now.”

He said, “In this regard, I must recognise the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under whose watch Nigeria is witnessing a renewed emphasis on structural reform and regional balance.

“The president’s approach provides the policy space and institutional backing for the South East to plan long-term, invest smartly, and integrate effectively into national growth priorities.”

In his remarks, Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State pledged the state government’s support for the implementation of a development plan for the region.

Nwifuru stated that the plan would close unemployment and poverty gaps, while unlocking potential across different sectors of the region’s economy.

He said Ebonyi State, under his administration, was building on the foundation of past administrations in agriculture and agribusiness, education, solid mineral development, and a roadmap for the transformation of the state as a hub of rural development in the South-east.

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State expressed satisfaction with the unanimous adoption and support for the South East Vision 2050 by critical stakeholders across the private and public sectors, saying the summit is connected to revolution of the region and its economic transformation.

Citing examples of transparent leadership in Abia State and abundance of solid minerals and other natural resources across the South-east, Otti said the task of economic transformation and industrialisation of the region was feasible and possible with committed and transparent execution of the development agenda.

On his part, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State thanked Tinubu for the creation of SEDC, describing it as a gift to the region that has been clamoured for by stakeholders for a long time.

Soludo said the conversation around SEDC Vision 2050 was historic, as it was the first time the governors and other leaders across the region were united in the adoption of a framework to guide the transformation of the area.

Earlier, in a keynote address, Resident Representative of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mrs Elsie Attafuah, spoke on global lessons in long-term regional planning through institutional capacity for sustainable implementation of development plans in complex contexts.

Attafuah said for genuine industrialisation to be achieved, policymakers and stakeholders must ensure that infrastructure built across the region served domestic production.

Attafyah urged cutting edge execution of Vision 2050 by stakeholders across the region and stated the importance of catalysing the comparative advantages of south-eastern states in ensuring sustainability of the gains recorded in the years to come.

Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, said the event was a crowning moment in the development of the South-east zone, especially in fostering a united and prosperous future.

Momoh said the creation of SEDC by the administration of Tinubu reflected an institutional commitment to the coordinated and targeted transformation of the region through the revitalisation of critical infrastructure, such as the rail sector and the commodity ecosystem, among others.

Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, underscored the significance of aligning resources and efforts, which she said had been prioritised through the South East Vision 2050 programme.

Oduwole pledged the support of her ministry and announced the ministry’s launch of a nationwide trade facilitation tour to boost the export potential across the country. She described the South-east region as the springboard for Nigeria’s industrial transformation.

In a goodwill message, President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo World Wide, Senator Azuta Mbata, commended the federal government for its efforts in prioritising regional integration and development through the summit.

Mbata said the integration of the South-east in the broader national development agenda was key, and pledged the support of the people of the region for the aspirations of the Vision 2050 and the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Chairman of the South East Development Commission, Sir Emeka Wogu, thanked Tinubu for his commitment to the progress and development of the South-east region and its people.

Wogu said South East vision 2050 was unique and designed to ensure continuity in the execution of development agenda for the region and the synergy of efforts by the respective state governments.

Managing Director of SEDC, Mr. Mark Okoye, thanked Tinubu for the creation of the commission as a special purpose vehicle to champion the economic transformation of the region.

Okoye said SEDC will seek the partnership of state governments, diaspora community and the organised private sector in implementing the 2050 vision aimed at charting a shared path to sustainable prosperity for the South-east, focusing on infrastructure, power, peace building, and connectivity, among others.