The much talked about South East Regional Integration received a boost yesterday 5^th April 2022  as revered Elderstatemen, in the company of Abia state frontline gubernatorial aspirant, Etigwe Uwa SAN paid a courtesy call on the nascent governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Soludo in the Agu Awka government House, Awka.

In his remarks to the governor, the leader of the delegation, Elder Kalu Eke Kalu congratulated Prof. Soludo for making the Anambra gubernatorial pools and lauded him for the reassuring strides he is already making towards South East regional integration.

It would be recalled that the leadership of Ohaneze sometime in 2018, Chief Nnia Nwodo, had conceived the idea of a South East Development Company (SEDECO) with Soludo as the leader of the Think-Tank with others that included Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa and Ferdinand Agu. The critical terms of reference for the top-notch technocrats were to design an economic road map for Ndi’Igbo. In addition to this sterling effort at regional integration, the governments of the five south-eastern states and the organized private sector players from the region have also muted the idea of building multi-billion-dollar infrastructure that will encompass rail; gas and power lines using Public Private Partnership (PPP) models. This is believed to integrate and advance economic activities within the five eastern states.

The delegation, which included Elder Kalu Uke Kalu, a former Chairman of the Union Bank, Dr. Uma Eleazu, OON, Pioneer Director, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Etigwe Uwa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Abia State Governorship Aspirant as well as Oracle Nwala, a legal practitioner and member of the National Institute (mni).

The delegation implored the governor to maintain the deliberate steps in articulating and formulating sound strategic economic and political policies that will transcend Anambra to the entirety of Ndi Igbo.

In his reaction, Prof. Soludo expressed pleasure that a delegation that comprises of his foremost employer, Elder Kalu Uke Kalu and leading think tanker, Dr. Eleazu could honour him with their presence. He informed the delegation that his preliminary attention is about restoring security in Anambra. He described the cleaning of the state, particularly Onistha as a low hanging fruit with a multiplying effect of attracting investors to the state. According to him, ‘it is difficult to enhance development without security or enhance the quality of life of the people without reflection on the totality of their wellbeing including the state of hygiene.

In his remarks shortly after the courtesy visit, Etigwe Uwa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Abia State Governorship Aspirant asserted that one way to achieve the desired regional integration is by the various states to consider deliberate policy framework for the development of ICT hubs in the states that will aim at encouraging human capital development in the region. According to Etigwe Uwa, the entrepreneurial spirit among the Igbos must be seen in the perspective of their comparative advantage to the implication that governance in the region must take into consideration that this is a primary strength the region can negotiate with.

On his gubernatorial aspiration, the learned Senior Advocates stressed that he is committed to renewing the faith of ndi Abia by striving to realize our highest values, genuinely rebuilding the broken walls of hopes and confronting the challenges of serials neglects for the purpose of offering the highest level of freedoms. According to him, we will seek to pioneer a new approach to public problem solving that will be ‘ndi Abia-centeric’ with data-enabled feedback and targeted policies to bridge the infrastructural distortions caused by several years of impudent governance approach. His strongest conviction is that Abia has what it takes to deliver and surpass its own development expectations and realise beyond its dreams.