₦airaland Forum

Governors of the South-east and the South-south zones met last Sunday in Enugu with a resolve to strengthen inter-regional cooperation and integration. The meeting which was the first of its type clearly signposts positive things to come, writes Christopher Isiguzo

Last Sunday’s meeting of the South-east and South-south Governors in Enugu State during, which the governors expressed their commitment to inter-regional cooperation and integration has been welcomed as a good development and a huge sign of positive things to come as the 2019 general election draws near. The meeting came on the heels of a similar one by political leaders from the South-east in Enugu a week earlier.

Apart from the Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, and his Edo State counterpart, Godwin Obaseki, who were absent, as well as Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Nkem Okeke, the remaining eight governors, four from South-south and four from South-east graced the maiden meeting.

The governors present include Chief Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Rochas Okorocha of Imo State. Others were Emmanuel Udom (Akwa Ibom), Ben Ayade (Cross River), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) and Nyesom Wike (Rivers).

The two meetings have also been seen from different quarters as having serious political undertone especially when viewed from the point that the two major outings came at a time some separatists groups including the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of a Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) have intensified their agitation for the creation of a Biafran Republic and by so doing, causing serious tensions in the polity.

The proposed Biafra Republic, according to its promoters, would involve states from the South-east and South-south zones, hence the significance of the Enugu parley. The agitation had assumed a new dimension when on May 30, the IPOB and MASSOB ordered one of the most complied sit-at-home in the South-east and some South-south states, thus taking the Biafran consciousness to an all-time high.
In response to these developments, some Northern youths, under the auspices of Arewa Youths, on June 6, issued a quit notice for Ndigbo living in the Northern parts of the country to vacate the region before October, 2017.

That eviction notice would eventually result in various groups holding meetings, to possibly come up with the most appropriate response to the rising tension in the land. Some major issues including the need to restructure the country, the unity of the country among others had featured prominently.
The South-east and South-south governors Forum meeting in Enugu was therefore one of such regional meetings which came with high expectations of possibly reviving the age-long brotherly bonds, political and economic integration and cultural relationships devoid of mutual suspicions among others.

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GOOD ONE