South-South Governors Back Tinubu for 2027, Pledge Integrated Regional Economy in Calabar

The South-South Governors' Forum met in Calabar and pledged its 100 per cent support for President Bola Tinubu's re-election in 2027, while adopting plans for an integrated regional economy based on infrastructure, industrialisation and maritime trade. South-South governors have pledged 100 per cent support for President Bola Tinubu's re-election in 2027 and agreed to push for an integrated economic agenda for the Niger Delta. The decisions came out of the second meeting of the South-South Governors' Forum held in Calabar on Monday under the chairmanship of Bayelsa State Governor Senator Douye Diri. In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the governors said the region can no longer afford fragmented development. They said it must move beyond resolutions to implementation, turning its oil, gas, maritime and agricultural wealth into jobs and prosperity. The statement also promised a united front in engagements with the Federal Government. The forum identified regional rail development, rehabilitation of the Calabar, Port Harcourt and Warri seaports, and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as immediate strategic priorities. The governors agreed to institutionalise the forum with quarterly meetings. The next session is scheduled to hold in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, from November 6 to 8, 2026. Host Governor and forum Vice Chairman Senator Bassey Otu of Cross River State received his colleagues in Calabar. Also present were Akwa Ibom State Governor Apostle Umo Eno, Edo State Deputy Governor Denis Idahosa, Rivers State Deputy Governor Professor Ngozi Nma Odu and Delta State Deputy Governor Sir Monday Onyeme. Diri said connectivity is the foundation for economic transformation. He called for accelerated work on road, rail, air and maritime infrastructure, including the East-West Road. 'The South-South must deliberately position itself as Nigeria's gas-industrial hub, West Africa's maritime gateway and the country's leading blue-economy zone,' he said. 'We cannot afford to remain a region of meetings and communiqués,' Diri added. 'The meeting must produce movement and measurable progress. ' Otu proposed a regional economic corridor linking the Bakassi Deep Seaport in Calabar with the East-West Road and the ports in Bayelsa and Delta. He also urged the region to move beyond raw resource exploitation and integrate its agricultural economies through value addition. He cited cassava processing and ethanol production as areas for job creation and retained value. 'We must begin to look beyond the exploitation of raw resources,' Otu said. 'The South-South has everything it takes to become one of Nigeria's most formidable economic blocs, provided we overcome fragmentation and harness our resources within a common regional framework. ' Otu called for a common regional position on fiscal equity. He listed value added tax, oil and gas revenues and the 13 per cent derivation benchmark as issues requiring a unified stance. He also asked the forum to support Cross River's campaign to regain oil-producing status, which he described as critical to the state's economic opportunity. 'We must come together as a people; we must cooperate, and we must ensure that our voice is heard and respected,' Otu said. The governors related economic growth to security and environmental remediation. They agreed to strengthen intelligence sharing and coordinated joint operations across the six states to protect communities, oil and gas assets, and economic corridors. They also resolved to engage President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directly on the region's infrastructure and environmental priorities. Diri expressed concern about the environmental challenges facing the Niger Delta and called for expanded remediation. 'We cannot continue to produce the wealth while communities remain surrounded by environmental devastation,' he said. He described it as a contradiction that the region sustains Nigeria's economy while facing such ecological damage. The meeting heard a presentation by BRACED Commission Director General Ambassador Joe Keshi on regional rail development and infrastructure. PANDEF National Chairman Ambassador Godknows Boladei Igali urged the governors to set up a regional investment fund to mobilise capital for cross-border projects and put young people at the centre of the transformation agenda. The governors said the region contributes the bulk of Nigeria's oil and gas earnings and argued that coordinated action is the only path to translate that contribution into tangible development. Analysts described the Calabar communiqué as a shift from isolated state projects to an integrated South-South economic space built on shared infrastructure, investment and value chains.