He made the remarks at the Vision 2050 South-East Stakeholders Forum, held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, on Wednesday. The theme is “Charting a Shared Vision for Sustainable Prosperity for South-East Nigeria”.
Shettima explained that the federal government is committed to regional development, anchored on aligning national policy, resources, and political will with the Southeast Vision 2050.
“The South-East is strategic in the federal government’s development initiatives because of its entrepreneurial spirit,” he said, calling on leaders in the region to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government.
Praising Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State for his efforts in restoring peace in Amasiri and Oso Edda, Shettima noted that Nwifuru handled the crisis with maturity and impartiality, expressing confidence that the approach will bring lasting peace to the area.
Speaking on the topic “Feeding and Building the South-East Region for Agro- and Solid Minerals-Led Industrialization”, Nwifuru said Ebonyi State is deliberately working to harness the state’s rich mineral deposits to drive national development in general, and the South-East region in particular.
Governor Nwifuru expressed immense gratitude for the President’s vision for the federating units, especially the South-East, evidenced 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 the emphasis towards formal licensing, investor screening, community engagement, and the explicit goal of linking extraction to local processing.
“Our roadmap is anchored on the strategic vision of establishing at least two cement factories.
“We are actualizing this vision because of our proximity to cement raw materials, limestone, and gypsum.
“Additionally, we are working towards processing lead and zinc to feed metal fabrication industries and leveraging salt resources to supply food processing and chemical industries.”
The Governor commended the commission for the initiative and called on his fellow governors to lend their support for the full actualization of the vision.
Advertisements
