Stakeholders raised fresh concerns yesterday over the environmental and economic state of the South-South region, describing it as the “circulatory system” of Nigeria’s economy that continues to suffer the debilitating effects of degradation, underdevelopment, and marginalisation.
Speaking at the second edition of Road to South-South: The National Convergence of the Renewed Hope Agenda held yesterday at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe said the region’s centrality to Nigeria’s economic survival makes its neglect untenable and dangerous.
He noted that for decades, the South-South has powered national growth, supplying the oil and gas resources that fuel the federation. He lamented that the region’s own “arteries” remain clogged by environmental pollution, economic exclusion, and recurring social unrest.
“This paradox of contributing massively to national wealth while remaining impoverished at home is the heart of the national question we must resolve,” Jarigbe said.
He commended the Office of the President, particularly the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Communications, for convening what he described as a shift “from rhetoric to roadmap, from grievance to strategy, and from isolation to collaboration.”
Framing the theme, Transforming the South-South through Strategic Policy Intervention and Federal Collaboration as a national imperative, he outlined three key areas requiring urgent action.
Jarigbe called for a comprehensive Niger Delta Environmental Restoration and Sustainability Act to move beyond “palliative clean-ups.” and ensure total remediation of polluted lands and waterways.
He emphasised the need to hold polluters accountable and establish a coordinated system for environmental monitoring. He also emphasised economic diversification through a South-South blueprint that would attract private investment into gas processing, petrochemicals, the blue economy, tourism, and sustainable agriculture.
Jarigbe added that the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative must have a strong implementation footprint in the region to boost industrialisation and job creation.
According to him, collaboration should not be reduced to high-level meetings in Abuja but must translate into integrated action on the ground. He called for infrastructure convergence among the Federal Ministry of Works, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and state governments to align projects, such as the completion of the East-West Road, the expansion of seaports in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Calabar, and the modernisation of interstate bridges.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (South-South), Gift Johnbull, launched Road to South-South 2.0, describing it as a renewed push to deepen development and broaden the impact of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Johnbull said the initiative builds on the successes of the first edition, emphasising that “progress must never stall.” The platform bridges the gap between government and grassroots communities, ensuring that local voices shape national priorities.
