Ugwuanyi, South East leaders restate call for 2nd Niger Bridge Completion *Obasanjo urges Ndigbo to look inwards to develop Zone

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state state, other governors of the South East zone as well as major stakeholders in the zone who converged on Enugu Thursday for an economic and security summit have reiterated the call of the people of the area on the federal government to complete the second Niger Bridge.

Former president of the country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who also attended the summit charged the people of the zone to exploit their known entrepreneurial acumen to look inwards to develop the South East zone.

The event which held at the Government House, Enugu attracted front line Igbo leaders who, in their separate speeches decried the level of infrastructural decay in the zone, called for increased federal presence and general social and political justice as they affect the people of the area.

Among the Igbo leaders that graced the summit were the deputy Senate President Chief Ike Ekweremadu, the governors of Ebonyi, Chief Dave Umahi, Abia, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, the deputy governor of Anambra, Dr. Nkem Okeke , the Chairman of the occasion, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and the convener of the event, Prof Barth Nnaji.

While reading his welcome address, Governor Ugwuanyi, whose speech set the tone for the general clarion call for the improvement of the lot of Ndigbo in Nigeria, described the summit as a veritable platform to discuss the peace and economic growth of the geopolitical zone and the country in general.

He underscored the importance of the summit, stressing that security and economic development play vital roles in the upkeep of humanity.

The governor also explained that the summit will afford the people ample opportunity to discuss the two vital elements that can make the zone move forward, calling on the federal government to rehabilitate federal infrastructures in Enugu state and the other parts of the geo-political zone in general.

Also addressing the gathering, Chief Obasanjo noted that South East geo-political zone is endowed with much human and natural resources which if properly harnessed, would go a long way to launch the whole country into economic buoyancy.

According to Chief Obasanjo, “if the economy of the people is not taken care of and if the security is not taken care of, the economy of your people will diminish, so the two are symbolic…security by itself is not deficit, if there is no security in any part of Nigeria there is no security in Nigeria”, he noted.

He commended the South East governors and other stakeholders for their ingenuity, advocating periodic meetings among them with a view to charting a positive course for the rapid development of the zone.