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Tag: Integration

  • Afenifere lauds Ambode, Southwest governors on integration

    Afenifere lauds Ambode, Southwest governors on integration

    Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, has commended Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and his counterparts in the Southwest for promoting the region’s oneness.

    In a statement by the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, it commended Ambode, saying it was during his administration Lagos State keyed into Oodua Investment to cement the oneness of the Yoruba nation.

    “It is gratifying to note the sense of history of the governor (Ambode) in remembering the role the Western regional government under Awolowo played in the development of the West when cocoa was our mainstay by committing to use the economic strength of Lagos to rob positively on other states in Yorubaland.

    “Ambode has, on behalf of Lagos State, pledged to invest billions of naira to acquire vast acres of land in Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and Ogun for modern, technologically-driven farming. Both raw and processed products from such farms would be brought back to Lagos for effective sales, given the remarkable and huge market potential of the state.

    “This is quite commendable and realisable within effective partnership with his brother governors so our states can benefit from one another by creating jobs and providing food security,” the group said.

    Alluding to the meeting by governors in Abeokuta, Afenifere backed the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, which among others, proposed a joint task force to tackle insecurity in the region and harness the competitive advantage of constituent states for sustainable development.

    Afenifere also lauded the move by the governors to convene a regional agric summit in Ibadan aimed at improving food security and the establishment of a Western Nigeria Export Development Initiative (WENEDI) to drive export.

    “It is equally salutary that the governors agreed that artificial boundaries of states, religions, political affiliations, among others, would not be a barrier to regional development and urged the states to be encouraged to significantly improve bilateral and multilateral co-operation to foster regional development.

    “We are happy they have affirmed commitment to the development of our people to override petty party differences. It is not an accident that the Yoruba call party “Pati” (set aside).We must set aside things that divide as we search for verb for our noun in the syntax of national experience.

    “We urge them to match these words with action to ensure that the Yoruba nation is restored to the right path of giant development, which the years of unitary rule have derailed us from. It’s time to resume our march of history,” Afenifere said.

    The group also urged Yoruba people to key into these strategic goals “by breaking all mental and artificial barriers that hitherto created among a people united by history, culture and the quest for development.

    “These are imperatives of our quest for autonomy within Nigeria via restructuring of the country to have a proper federation as obtained in the federal constitution negotiated by our founding fathers at Independence.”

     

  • Governors and South-west integration

    SIR: The South-west governors meeting in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Monday July 24 refers. According to reports, the meeting which was attended by all governors among other resolutions declared zero tolerance for crime in the region, establish Western Nigeria Export Development Initiatives and change name to Western Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

    The governors deserve commendation for their coming together for this meeting in spite of the party differences. However, they need to be told that crime cannot be reduced in view of lack of employment opportunities for school leavers including graduates of tertiary institutions, economic hardship in the land, non-payment of workers’ salaries and emoluments. The blame for the above is laid at the door step of our government. And adage says, idle hands are the devil’s workshop. The menace of Badoo boys in Lagos, kidnapping, violent armed robbery are all outcrops of unemployment and economic hardship in the land. If the youths are gainfully employed, many will not take to crime. Also, public education has to be seriously funded if we really mean to reduce crime in our clime. Some schools in the South-west are under lock and keys. What do the governors expect the students to be doing at home, almost a year when the schools have been closed down?

    On the regional integration of the region, the governors should give fillip to their talks because their meetings are turning into mere talk shops. No practical steps have been taken towards the integration almost eight years since the initiative began.

    The failure of LAUTECH project is a clear indication that the regional integration as being mouthed by our governors is chimera. This is the institution owned by just two states of Oyo and Osun. It has been making steady progress since the days of the military. However, since the coming of civilian rule and particularly since 2003 or thereabout, the centre could no longer hold in the school. The school has been on and off since early 2016 till date due to non-funding by the two states. The irony is that two of the governors pursuing regional integration are visitors to LAUTECH. If the two states could not maintain a university, then how can six states jointly fund any project successfully? Then what regional integration are they talking about? Regional integration includes bilateral agreement, if it is working and successful. To be taken serious on regional integration in the South-west, LAUTECH case is a litmus test for our governors. Their failure or success will determine how far their regional integration project will go.

     

    • Adewuyi Adegbite,

    Ayekooto05@gmail.com.

  • CIBN, stakeholders seek national integration

    CIBN, stakeholders seek national integration

    The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has said national integration remains key tool for economic policy, processes and national development.

    President of the institute, Prof. Segun Ajibola, who spoke at the 2017 CIBN yearly lecture in Lagos explained that national integration and successful planning and implementation are in inseparable.

    “Indeed it will be wrong to assume that any economic policy will succeed without the awareness of a common identity among the citizens, while respecting their ethnic, cultural, religious and social affiliations. Nigeria has been estimated to have over 250 ethnic groups each with its own expectations and desires from the national government. I wish to therefore state that national integration is predicated on the mobilisation of the citizenship just as it is enhanced through appropriate economic policies,” he stated.

    Earlier, the President of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, who is also the Chairman of the event, noted that ‘citizenship is key to national integration.

    “There is no more powerful instrument than economic policy to address the issue of integration and citizenship. When you formulate economic policy by recognising this principle, you create an environment where people are compelled to identify with,” he said.

    The guest Speaker, who is also a Professor of Economics and Director, Institute for Developmental Studies, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Osita Ogbu, said that “it is clear that nations rise and fall not because of oil or other sub-soil assets, but because they have leaders who deliberately constructed acceptance or legitimation of the nation state in the minds of its citizens as diverse as they may be.

  • Fed Govt to strengthen backward integration

    The Federal Government will increase investment in sugar development to guarantee self-sufficiency and create jobs, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah has said.

    He spoke in Abuja at the mid-term review meeting of the sugar master plan.

    The minister said the backward integration policy, which began four years ago, must be consolidated to achieve the results.

    He said the sugar sector was faced with more challenges than the cement industry, promising a turnaround in five years.

    Enelamah charged stakeholders in the sector to come up with workable  solutions to the sector’s challenges.

    His words: ‘Sugar has been challenging and we must overcome those challenges. This is part of the reasons the acting President inaugurated the industrial council that would bring together leaders and players in both private and public sectors in order to boost industrialisation. We are resolute to partner the private sector to address these challenges. We are not only interested in discussing solutions but we are bent on implementation.

    He said the desire of the government to industrialise Nigeria had not diminished, despite that the ambition was very capital intensive.

    He said the only way to go was public-private partnership, adding that the government would provide the enabling environment for stakeholders to operate.

    The Executive Secretary of the Sugar Council, Dr. Abdullatif Busari, highlighted the pains and gains of the sugar master plan policy since its take-off as well as insight into the preferred destination of the plan.

    Busari said it was expected that Nigeria would attain a zero percent importation of sugar by the time the policy reached its maturity of 10 years, adding that Nigeria would attain a 70 percent self-sufficiency and even export to other African nations.

    He insisted that the desire of the government to  industrialise the country has not diminished, despite that the ambition is capital intensive.

    According to him, the only way to go is public-private partnership, adding that the government would provide the enabling environment for stakeholders to operate.

  • NB boosts agric with backward integration

    The commitment of Nigerian Breweries Plc to the Federal Government’s Backward Integration Policy (BIP) has significantly impacted the agric sector, particularly operators in the cassava and sorghum value chains.

    According to the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, the brewery giant’s BIP, which substitutes imported raw and packaging materials with local alternatives, has so far engaged about 60,000 farmers in the cultivation of sorghum alone.

    Vervelde, who spoke at a briefing in Lagos, ahead of its Annual General Meeting (AGM), said 48 per cent of the company’s raw materials are sourced locally, but it targets to achieve 60 per cent local raw material sourcing by 2020.

    “All our labels and crowns are sourced locally,” Vervelde said, adding that the company’s aggressive investments in the cassava and sorghum value chain will help it achieve the 60 per cent target by 2020.

    He said apart from strategic interventions in the agric sector by making quality, high-yielding seeds available to farmers, the company has stepped up its investment in Research and Development (R&D) in sorghum and cassava value chains.

    Vervelde said the company’s involvement in cassava has created several jobs for farmers engaged in extracting cassava starch, which is processed into maltose syrup.

    Vervelde further said Nigerian Breweries, last year, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) to develop and commercialise hybrid sorghum.

    It also signed a tripartite partnership agreement with International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC) and Psaltry International Limited, a Nigerian cassava processing company, on value extraction of maltose syrup derived from cassava for the company’s production.

    Vervelde said the partnerships were aimed at improving agribusiness for Nigerian smallholder farmers and optimising the cassava value chain.

    According to him, local sourcing of raw materials creates shared value for the company and its stakeholders. Apart from guaranteeing sustainable supply of materials for the business, reducing dependence on imports, it encourages costs and improves the company’s environmental performance.

    The MD reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the Federal Government’s BIP and to the growth and development of the nation’s economy, despite the challenging operating environment.

    He said, for instance, that the macro-economic environment in 2016 was challenging, as scarcity of Foreign Exchange (forex), rising input prices due to the devaluation of the naira and rising inflation put consumer purchasing power under severe pressure.

    He, however, said that the company was able to weather the storm and end the year with a positive result and deliver good return on investment to its shareholders. Vervelde attributed the feat to the company’s twin agenda of Cost Leadership and Market Leadership supported by innovation.

  • Towards South-east economic integration

    Anambra State is already in full election swing at a time the four other governors in the South-east are also already oiling their electioneering machines ahead of the 2019 General Elections. With these being the state of affairs in Igboland, it will not be incorrect to assume that the recent buzz about a nascent South-east economic zone is already thawing.

    I am convinced that it is important at this moment to raise strong conversations around this all important development agenda in such a way as to ensure that the governors and political leaders in the South-east realize the need to grow this agenda to an enduring platform, timeless in its ideals and non-political in its objectives.

    When the seed for the South East Economic Summit was sown in December of 2016, commendations went out to the governors in the region for sheathing political swords and looking at one prism for the all-important galvanization of ideas and resources for the development of a region most agree have largely been marginalized in national resource and infrastructure distribution in Nigeria.

    But given the peculiar entrepreneurial nature of the average Igboman, successfully pushing a regional economic union may not be a tough call for the leaders of the region. What is required is nothing else but a collective political will, driven by selfless desire to look beyond the artificial administrative boundaries with a view to building an economic ecosystem with mutually beneficial comparative advantages for the good of not just the South-east but for the rest of the country.

    This is chiefly why it has become unsettling that for some of us, that nothing much has been heard about the plans and propositions of an economic zone with clearly defined agenda, timelines, and targets. If the whole idea of a South-east economic zone is to gather governors and a few political leaders around a table to generate media sound bites, then nothing will be achieved and that is the concern here.

    By now, nearly five months after the initial economic and securities summit, we should have had a functional secretariat; a think-tank populated by economists and business leaders that are not in short supply in the region and, if you wish, several committee engaging the various communities of business people and interests in purposively functional steps towards the bigger picture of a unified economic zone.

    The main challenge the mainland Igbo faces is the magnification of the administrative divides occasioned by states creation. While creation of states was meant to ease administration and bring governance closer to the people, it seems that, unlike in other regions of the country, the imaginary lines and curves separating one state from the other have made Igbos grow further apart, even when they are more homogeneous than the peoples of other regions.

    In fact, the emotional proximity between a man from Ebonyi State and his brother from Anambra State, a distance of less than 150 kilometres is far wider than that between a man from Sokoto and his brother in Maiduguri, a distance of over 1000 kilometres.

    Even the Niger Delta region that has the most heterogeneous nationalities in Nigeria appears to have stronger emotional filial bonds than the average Igbo.

    This was why, when the Enugu State governor agreed to host the South East Economic and Political Summit, everyone was up in applause that the time for a project that will blight the artificial lines that has seen Igbos drifting apart has finally come.

    The beauty of the South-east zone is its interconnectedness with the rest of the country, especially in the business and commercial realms. While the huge market in Onitsha and Nnewi bestows on Anambra as the undisputed commercial capital of the South-east, Enugu State, in addition to being the political capital of the region, is also a major gateway to and from the North Central states of Kogi and Benue and by extension, the entire northern Nigeria. Ebonyi, Imo and Abia states are strongly connected to the at least three Niger Delta states.

    The average man from the South-south (including those in Edo and Delta) would rather do his business in Onitsha than travel the longer distance to Lagos. It is also cheaper (and safer) for nearly all the northern states (save for Kwara) to have their people do business in Aba, Abia State’s commercial centre than travel to Lagos.

    What this means is that the national commercial capital of Lagos will also benefit more by having bulk-breakers in the future commercial centres that could be envisioned and created out of the ongoing conversation on a South-east economic bloc. This would immediately mean a larger market for Lagos and lower cost of doing business (in logistics) for the many that would then not need to travel the often very risky long distances just to make few purchases of stocks in Lagos.

    We cannot discuss the South-east economy without giving ample space for agriculture. Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi states are food baskets capable of feeding this country. The palm-oil potentials of Imo and Abia states are still waiting to be exploited and I will also take time to discuss this and other critical enablers in greater detail in future articles.

    It is important at this time for stakeholders to remind the governors of the South-eastern states that an economic zone for the region must go beyond immediate political capital. Any governor that wants to build signposts of achievements of immediate measurability should not invest in a project such as this. Success in this project is long term, with all the leaders agreeing on targets and propositions with identifiable comparative advantages identified and pursued.

    They must also be willing to commit long term resources, structured in such a way as to make it easy for future leaders to buy in and sustain the drive. For this to happen, there must be a deliberate effort to ensure those driving the project operate outside Government Houses and governors’ offices.

    And they must be professionals carefully selected from diverse fields of economics, commerce, manufacturing, logistics, health, hospitality, academia and the sciences. They must also be proven thinkers and contributors to national development, willing to give their time selflessly for the good of their people.

    Posterity will be kind to those who lay the foundation for this great future today.

     

    • Okuhu, a journalist and public commentator, lives in Lagos
  • Firm lauds Fed Govt’s backward integration

    Firm lauds Fed Govt’s backward integration

    Euro Global Foods and Distilleries Limited, Ota, Ogun-State, has thrown its weight behind the Federal Government’s backward integration policy, saying that the policy has once again proved the thinking of the government right.

    The firm, a multinational, attributed the high demand of its products and subsequent posting of good profit to the policy.

    Its Managing Director, Mr. Manish Uniyal, said after seven years of operation, it has achieved 85 per cent local content in raw material sourcing.

    He commended the government’s policy of patronage of alternative local materials, noting that it is almost immuned to the challenges faced by other companies in the country as a result Foreign Exchange (forex) challenges.

    Uniyal said: “As a proud member of Sona Group of Companies that comprise about a dozen leading companies providing pioneering and cutting-edge products, we have no choice but to key into the government’s policy of exploiting alternative local raw materials.”

    He said some of their products have won international awards of quality and standards as a result of their high compliance to regulatory requirements.

    Uniyal said the company has over 20 world-class products, such as Aqua Euro premium table water, produced for healthy living as well as convenience and prestige. Others are power bitters, Sabrina –dry gin, Blue Lagoon, Czar Vodka, Schnapps, Savanah and several brands of biscuits.

    He said the company offers each segment the product that suits it at competitive price despite the  economic situation. He also said the company beats competition by using strategic economic and management plans to drive its production and marketing processes.

    Uniyal reiterated his confidence in the economy, pledging the company’s commitment to grow and automate its production processes.

    He expressed confidence that the company’s products will be available across the 36 states within the next two years.

    According to him, the company maintains a high degree of industry standards and strict adherence to regulatory requirements from Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

  • Ekweremadu seeks regional economic integration by states

     …says volatile exchange rate killing industries, SMEs

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has made case for regional economic integration by the states of the federation along their geopolitical zones.

    Ekweremadu said such regional economic integration would fast-track the country’s industrialisation.

    This is even as he said the failure to maintain a uniform exchange rate was antithetical to the promotion of the industrial sector and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs.

    He linked the flight and death of many industries and enterprises to the failure to maintain uniform exchange rate..

    A statement by his media aide, Uche Anichukwu, said that Ekweremadu spoke at the opening of the 28th Enugu International Trade Fair yesterday, where he also advocated linkages between different groups of enterprises as big businesses had more access to international trade and investment links.

    The Senator said states stood to gain more and develop commerce, industry, mines, and agriculture faster when they converge their potentials and resources to benefit from the economies of scale.

    To encourage this, however, he said the nation needed restructuring to allow the federating units reasonable autonomy and constitutional empowerments to take initiatives.

    Ekweremadu said: “Contiguous to regional economic integration is the need for restructuring to move matters like power, railway, aviation, ports, and mineral resources, among others to the concurrent list. That way, states will not have to depend on the federal government for the critical infrastructure needed to drive industrialisation.

    “With this and visionary leaders, the South East can easily become the Japan, Dubai, and Europe of Africa rolled into one, given the entrepreneurial capacities and ingenuity of our people as well as the potentials already shown by Nnewi, Onitsha, and Aba.

    “By their convergence, for instance, South East States can easily attract investors or pool their resources to establish industrial parks, develop the Onitsha seaport, dredge the River Niger, revive the Oji River Power Station or build an entirely new one. This is the way to go.”

    He further called for systemic inter-governmental and inter-agency collaboration and synergy, where each State and Local Government is able to optimize its potentials.

    To this end, he said the report of the ‘One Local Government One Product’, OLOP, and study carried out by SMEDAN to identify unique products or services in each of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria should be taken seriously with a view to developing them to be competitively attractive in the global markets.

    The Deputy Senate President advised government to take steps to arrest the exchange rate volatility and create special tax regimes for SMEs, noting that “currency volatility is worse than high exchange rates as it makes planning and business transactions extremely difficult”.

    He appealed to the federal government and the states to design a special tax regime for SMEs to help them to grow.

    “In the midst of highly deficit socio-economic infrastructure, running businesses in our country is a herculean task, especially for upcoming firms, hence the need to streamline and trim their taxes”.

  • NCDMB, NIMASA, others back in-country integration of Egina FPSO

    The  Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has thrown its weight behind the in-country Egina floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units at the SHI-MCI yard in Lagos.

    A joint venture between Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL), the the firm’s objective is to build and integrate ships and FPSO vessels.

    SHI-MCI FZE known as Samsung Heavy Industries -Mega Construction Integration Free Zone at the LADOL Free Zone in Lagos is handling a part of the integration that will produce Egina Deepwater Field in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 130 to be operated by Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI).

    SHI is the main contractor, while LADOL is a subcontractor and one of the local content vehicles for the FPSO project.

    Beside NCDMB, other agencies supporting the local integration of Egina FPSO are Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA).

    According to the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, the integration at the SHI-MCI fabrication yard would collaborate with the Board and ancilliary agencies, adding that this would be the first time this would happen in the country.

    The agencies declared their commitments to the project after inspecting the FPSO under construction at the SHI yard in Geoje, South Korea.

    The FPSO is scheduled to sail in June and will arrive in the SHI-MCI yard in Lagos, in September, where the six modules fabricated in-country will be integrated, with 21400 pre-inauguration tasks it is expected to be performed. After the integration, the FPSO will be towed to the Egina field, about 200 kilometres south of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital and hooked-up for operation.

    Speaking during the visit, Wabote urged TUPNI to identify issues that required the Board’s intervention ahead of the arrival of the FPSO. Such approvals as authorisations for expatriates would lead the integration, towing of the FPSO and other scopes, would guarantee the smooth conclusion of the project, he said.

    He underscored the importance of the Egina project to the economy, particularly the addition of 200,000 barrels to the country’s daily crude. Egina will also contribute to the Federal Government’s commitment to address production decline and shore up national revenue.The  industry needs more projects to build capacity and keep facilities from wasting, he added.

    Wabote hailed Total and SHI for their Nigerian Content credentials on the project, adding that such huge Nigerian content happened in the project because of the push by the NCDMB, though Total was convinced it still needed a little push.

    “We are happy with the progress of the project and its contribution to local content and the national economy. FPSOs have been built abroad in the past and moved straight to site. This is the first time that many Nigerians will see what it looks like.”

    The NCDMB  chief also announced plans by the Board to organise a knowledge sharing session on Nigerian Content to enable international oil companies (IOCs) share strategies they deployed in their projects. The session, he explained, would ensure that IOCs leverage local Content experiences of others when planning projects or faced with similar challenges.

    NCDMB, he said, was developing guidelines that would ensure that Nigerian companies participate in the operations phase in oil and gas projects, noting that the sustainability of the Nigerian Content lies in the operations phase which often lasts about 25 years.

    TUPNI Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Ahmadu Kida Musa, commended the collaboration between his firm and the NCDMB teams on the Egina project, charging the Board to continue pushing the boundaries of Nigerian Content implementation.

    He commended regulatory agencies that pledged to support the in-country integration phase, noting: “Some of the things we will be seeing have not been done in Nigeria. We would need accelerated approvals while not breaking the law.”

    He praised SHI and LADOL for forming the consortium that has made  FPSO integration possible, noting that they had positioned themselves for future projects. He challenged the partners to work together to further develop the yard to attract the African market.

    SHI-MCI Managing Director  Mr. C. W. Kim, reaffirmed his firm’s preparedness to help Nigeria boost its technological knowhow. This informed the decision to make the long-term investment, he said.  “We decided to invest in Nigeria for the long term, not just for Egina. It would not make sense to invest for just one project; it needs several projects. We have capacity in construction and we have been in business for over 40 years. To succeed in Nigeria, we plan to be competitive and operate with a long term plan,“ he added.

    The in-country integration of the FPSO and fabrication of six modules of the vessel created 5000 direct jobs and 5000 indirect jobs.

  • Towards Southwest integration

    Towards Southwest integration

    Southwest governors recently met in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, under the umbrella of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) to discuss the socio-economic challenges confronting to the zone. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA examines the resolutions reached by the governors, which are expected to be of great benefit to the region.

    The people of Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, knew that political bigwigs were around on that fateful day. They came to town with their retinue of aides for an all-important meeting.

    Their advance teams had arrived a day earlier awaiting the arrival of their bosses. By the time the Southwest governors stormed the capital of the Fountain of Knowledge, they made for that iconic edifice, the new Government House, Ayoba Hill, where musicians, drummers and dancers were entertaining guests.

    By the time the governors arrived, every space within the complex had been filled with vehicles. Inside the Banquet Hall of the Government House, traditional rulers, members of the House of Assembly, members of the State Executive Council and other political office holders were seated.

    Governor Ayo Fayose, who wore a flowing agbada played, host to his colleagues. The governors set aside their political differences and put the interest of the Southwest on the front burner.

    Others who attended the quarterly meeting include Akinwumi Ambode (Lagos), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo) and Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga.

    Ambode, Amosun, Ajimobi and Aregbesola belong to the All Progressives Congress (APC) while Mimiko and Fayose are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

    For Mimiko, it was a valedictory attendance at the meeting. He has now been succeeded by Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu (SAN).

    Fayose will be the lone ranger  in the PDP camp at the next meeting to be held in Ogun State next month.

    The meeting was in two parts-the opening ceremony witnessed by everybody present inside the banquet hall and a closed ceremony which was only attended by governors, who were expected to come out with a communique.

    Fayose, in his welcome address, raised some thought-provoking issues affecting the Southwest in the Nigerian federation, saying that the zones deserves to get what it is presently getting.

    The Ekiti governor said the Southwest rail project will go a long way in changing the economic fortunes of the zone and usher in a new beginning pleading that “the project must not die.”

    Fayose called for a common education curriculum among the states and a security synergy to curb criminal activities across boundaries of the member-states.

    He condemned the allocation to the Southwest in the 2017 budget of the Federal Government, most especially on construction and rehabilitation of federal roads in the zone, water and irrigation projects.

    Describing Southwest as “one of the least beneficiaries in the 2017 Federal Government budget,” Fayose charged members of the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly from the zone to always defend the interests of their people.

    He said: “The federal government 2017 budget is about N7 trillion and the only capital project allocated to Ekiti State is the Akure – Ado Ekiti road to which N250 million was earmarked.

    “What can N250 million do on Akure–Ado Road that is begging for reconstruction? There is even no guarantee that the N250 million budgetary provision will be made available at the end of the day. I am sure this is applicable to other states too compared to other zones.

    “We must, therefore, ask pertinent questions. How much did the federal government allocate to irrigation, construction of dams and storage facilities to boast agriculture  in the Southwest?”

    Fayose advised leaders in the zone to respect political beliefs and opinions of others and never allow national politics to divide them.

    He said: “Most importantly, it is not our own making that we are brothers from the same zone, and if we are serious about developing this zone, we have no option than to be our brothers’ keeper.

    “Therefore, to move the Southwest zone forward, we must respect the political beliefs and opinions of others and we must not do anything that will undermine one another.

    “To me, national politics should add value to us, and not divide us.

    “Americans go about fighting their political battles without undermining the collective interests of their country, and that is the kind of spirit with which we must operate, if the Yoruba nation must regain its pride of place in the Nigeria nation.

    “We must constantly ask ourselves; where is the Southwest in the scheme of things in Nigeria?

    Fayose described the menace of herdsmen as a major impediment to the development of agriculture in the Southwest region.

    Fayose asked: “How do we continue to encourage our people to embrace farming when their investments are being lost daily?”

    After the opening ceremony, the governors proceeded to a closed door session where they deliberated on issues affecting the Southwest and emerged about three hours later with their resolutions.

    Following the delibrations, Southwest governors approved the constitution of a Regional Technical Working Group (TWG) on Integrated Infrastructural Development to incorporate multimodal transportation system.

    The project is expected to incorporate highways, rail, watering air; energy and power; digital and telecoms; leisure and entertainment as well as water infrastructure.

    According to a communique issued at the end of the meeting, the governor’s resolved  to strengthen the economic relations in the in the region yesterday adopting a policy for the pursuit of common educational, security and agricultural policies for the zone.

    The governors resolved to make  it a matter of compulsion to monitor Federal Government’s budgetary allocations  to  agriculture  to the zone, to boost farming  and make it a common interest in the region.

    According to the communique, it is expedient for the zone to exchange notes in the area of security through convergence of security chiefs and other intelligence institutions to manage  the aerial, land and waterway security architecture of the zone.

    They also reiterated their commitment to a convergence of Commissioners of Police of the states of Western Nigeria and intelligence institutions to meet regularly and compare notes and work together in the region to work together to manage aerial, land and waterways security in the region.

    They resolved to achieve integrated, advanced and well-managed transportation infrastructure, for enhanced socio-economic development and well-being of the people of the Region.

    “The governors unanimous in addressing the declining moral standards and put in structures to manage the loss of values and virtues in the society. A first step is a quality assurance and morality framework as a critical part of regional education.

    “One centre each is to be donated by the governments of the states of western Nigeria as Regional Centre of Excellence”, he said.

    Governor Ambode of Lagos also showed commitment towards making his state a critical stakeholder  and critical part of Odua Investment group.

    Fayose said the governors also adopted the Southwest Regional Integrated Commercial Agriculture Development Programme (RICARD), with Lagos to champion a structured regional food exchange programme.

    “We also approve the report of the sports development strategic plan of action for southwest Nigeria. Lagos was carefully chosen to host of DAWN inter-collegiate games to strengthen the bonds and competitiveness among the youth in the region.

    “States were also mandated to design modalities to key into the proposed rail project as a primary driver of inter-modal transportation system for the whole region”.

    The governors agreed to host the next meeting in Ogun State in April, 2017.