Entrepreneur urges economic integration in southeast

The dwindling federal allocation and resulting cash crunch in the face of mounting social and economic needs calls for concerted effort by Southeast governors to promote economic integration.

A member of the board of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, London and Group Managing Director of Chimons Limited, Mr. Chibuike Achigbu, gave the charge while pointing the way forward for the geopolitical zone beyond oil.

He bemoaned the lack of serious creative engagement to reposition the economy of the zone, especially against the backdrop of obvious development gaps, poor performance of private business and huge army of unemployed.

While commending the effort of a few governors in the zone who are taking positive and remarkable steps to change the fortunes of their states, Achigbu warned that the absence of the basic infrastructure needed to support such initiatives might eventually work against the realisation of the objectives.

According to him: “Infrastructure update is key to turning the Southeast into investment destination and no single state government in the region has the financial capacity to put that in place.

“With the abandonment of the dredging of the River Niger, the marginalisation of the Southeast in the rail transportation master plan and the poor federal roads that link the states to the rest of the country, no serious investor would feel comfortable doing business in the Southeast,” he stated.