Members of the South-South Governors Forum have unanimously picked Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State as their Chairman.
He was elected on Tuesday during the forum’s meeting held at the Government House, Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State emerged as the Vice Chairman of the forum.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State moved the motion nominating Diri, while his Rivers State counterpart, Siminalayi Fubara, seconded it.
Responding, Diri said his emergence as chairman was a call to higher service and promised to serve the forum and the region diligently.
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He said it was not an office for him alone but a collective task for all governors of the South-South to move the region forward.
He stated that the forum would go beyond issuing communiques to taking action on critical issues that affect the region’s development.
He said: “Working together, we have all resolved that our region will not fail.
“We have seen other regions working while our region was quiet.”
In his opening address, Diri said the objectives of the forum include fostering greater synergy among the states, and advancing regional investments.
The governor listed the critical sectors for investments to include security, agriculture, education, power, environment, tourism, and youth empowerment through sports, ICT, and entrepreneurship.
He said it had become imperative to speak with one voice in view of the swiftly changing landscape of the country and the world at large.
According to him, leveraging the strengths and resources of each member state, they could design and implement targeted initiatives that foster sustainable development and prosperity.
He identified South-South regional flight connection as one area of collaboration to ease air travel within the zone.
In their remarks, Governors Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, Otu, Oborevwori, and Fubara appreciated Diri for hosting the meeting and for setting the tone for states to have action plans.
They noted that the meeting was long overdue and it was expedient for states in the region to work together to forge a buoyant economy outside of oil and gas.
They also stated that speaking in one voice would send the right signal that the region deserved the necessary attention from the government at the centre.
They prayed that the new direction under Diri would open a new vista for the region while urging forum members to put political affiliations aside to enable them to achieve their objectives.
In a communique, the governors expressed support for the ongoing tax reforms of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
The communique, read by the Bayelsa State governor, however, urged the President to extend the proposed Value Added Tax sharing to other areas of derivation like oil and gas.
They argued that the law on oil derivation prescribed a minimum of 13 percent and that the Federal Government should consider also increasing the amount of oil derivation to states of the region.
While thanking President Tinubu for the ongoing work on the East-West Road, the governors stressed that work should be expedited to ensure early completion.
Other areas the South-South governors called for the intervention of the Federal Government included the extension of the ongoing remediation of Ogoniland to other polluted environments in the region.
The forum expressed its readiness to establish a robust and structured security network to enhance security of the region.
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