Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that the South East occupies a central position in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, not as a concession, but as a strategic pillar of Nigeria’s economic future.
Shettima stated this on Wednesday at the South East Vision 2050 (SEV2050) Stakeholders’ Forum convened by the South East Development Commission (SEDC) at the International Conference Centre, Enugu.
The forum was organised by the SEDC in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President, the Ministry of Regional Development, and South East state governments.
Governors in attendance included Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi, Alex Otti of Abia, Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra, and the host governor, Peter Mbah of Enugu State.
Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, was represented by the Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Mr Chike Olemgbe.
Also present were the Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, members of the National and State Assemblies, traditional rulers, organised private sector representatives, and other key stakeholders.
Shettima said young people from the South East and across Nigeria were not spectators in the nation’s development journey but central actors.
“What we are doing in the South East is not an afterthought. To the young people of this region, let me speak on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: you are central to our national journey.
“Your energy, creativity, and ambition are essential to the Nigeria we are working to build,” he said.
Describing the forum as an exercise in rediscovering regional potential, the Vice President said development success depended on how that potential was organised, structured, and aligned with long-term national goals through coordinated action.
“This is why the South East Vision 2050 matters.
“It invites us to think beyond immediacy, beyond reactive governance, and beyond short-term projects that deliver headlines but not lasting outcomes.
“It asks what kind of South East we intend to build over the next 25 years and the infrastructure we must start delivering today to make that future possible,” Shettima said.
He stressed that such questions could not be answered by government alone but required collective leadership involving states, markets, communities, and citizens.
The Vice President also announced that President Tinubu had approved the establishment of the South East Investment Company Limited to mobilise capital from the diaspora, capital markets, and development finance institutions.
According to him, the funds would be channelled into infrastructure and human capital development across the region.
Shettima noted that the SEDC was created to address long-standing infrastructure deficits in the South East, largely resulting from the aftermath of the civil war.
In his remarks, Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State emphasised the need for regional security, integrated highways connecting major cities, gas pipelines, and a functional seaport to drive economic integration.
Soludo appealed to the Federal Government to ensure full financial backing for the SEDC to enable it achieve its mandate.
“To ensure the free movement of goods and services, we need a robust regional infrastructure agenda. By 2050, the South East should emerge as Nigeria’s infrastructure hub,” he said.
Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State said the region must prioritise the design of interstate logistics corridors, including roads, rail lines, inland waterways, and multimodal transport systems.
According to him, such infrastructure should be planned and executed as regional assets rather than individual state projects, adding that security must also be treated as regional infrastructure.
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, on his part, stressed the need for massive investment in energy to power the private sector and small and medium-scale enterprises across the South East.
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