• Support Tinubu’s re-election bid
• Plan to seek direct engagement with President on region’s devt priorities

South-South governors have resolved to build a stronger regional economic bloc anchored on infrastructure connectivity, investment mobilisation, maritime development, industrialisation and coordinated engagement with the Federal Government, as they seek to translate the region’s enormous economic potential into tangible prosperity for its people.

They also resolved to support President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 and to seek direct engagement with him on the region’s development priorities.

The resolution formed the thrust of the communiqué issued at the end of the second meeting of the South-South Governors’ Forum, held in Calabar, Cross River State, yesterday, under the chairmanship of Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri.

The governors identified regional rail development, rehabilitation and modernisation of the Calabar, Port Harcourt and Warri seaports, and the economic opportunities offered by the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as strategic priorities.

They also resolved to engage President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on critical South-South concerns, particularly infrastructure and environmental development, while reaffirming their commitment to his re-election in 2027 with “100 per cent” support from the region.

The forum further resolved to institutionalise its activities through quarterly meetings, with Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, scheduled to host the next meeting from November 6-8, 2026.

The communique also embraced a broader regional investment strategy, reflecting the presentation by the Director-General of the BRACED Commission, Joe Keshi, on efforts to advance regional infrastructure, particularly rail development.

PANDEF National Chairman, Godknows Boladei Igali, had advocated a regional investment fund capable of mobilising capital for projects that transcend individual state boundaries, while also urging the governors to place young people at the centre of the region’s economic transformation.

The emerging agenda, therefore, seeks to move the South-South from isolated state-level initiatives towards an integrated economic space driven by shared infrastructure, investment and value chains.

Meanwhile, Cross River State Governor and Vice Chairman of the Forum, Bassey Edet Otu, said the region’s ability to secure meaningful development depended on the extent to which its states could speak and act collectively.

Otu, therefore, called for a unified regional position on fiscal equity, particularly Value Added Tax, oil and gas revenues and the 13 per cent derivation benchmark.

He also sought the Forum’s support for Cross River’s campaign to regain its oil-producing status, describing the issue as part of the state’s broader quest for greater economic opportunity.

Diri, in his opening remarks, insisted that the Forum must distinguish itself through implementation rather than rhetoric.

“We cannot afford to remain a region of meetings and communiqués,” he said, stressing that “the meeting must produce movement” and that the decisions reached must translate into “measurable progress.”

He said that the South-South, despite its enormous contribution to Nigeria’s economy, could no longer afford fragmented approaches to challenges that were inherently regional.

The governors consequently linked economic development with security and environmental sustainability, saying that investment cannot flourish where communities, waterways and critical infrastructure remain vulnerable.

The Forum advocated stronger intelligence-sharing and coordinated security operations to protect communities, oil and gas assets and economic corridors across the six states.

The governors also stressed the importance of environmental restoration, reflecting what Diri described as the need to confront the “contradiction” of a region that sustains Nigeria’s economy while suffering severe ecological and developmental consequences.