By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu
The South-East Communities Development Association (SECDA) and South-East Communities Development Association Cooperative Union (SECDACU) have urged the South East Development Commission (SEDC) and Federal Ministry of Regional Development to construct and rehabilitate federal and important roads in the zone.
The groups disclosed this during their maiden conference organized at Toscana Hotel, Independence Layout, Enugu, with the theme ‘Our Expectations from South East Development Commission and Federal Ministry of Regional Development’.
SECDA reiterated that the aim of the association is to synergize with SEDC and penetrate the various communities in the region to ensure that they experience developmental strides.
National Coordinator of SECDA, Engr. Isidore Ehochi, in his address, urged SEDC to adopt SECDA as partners and a tool to achieve their aims and objectives.
He promised that the association will penetrate into the grassroots communities to sensitize them, present SEDC’s program to them and pleaded with the communities to cooperate with the association to achieve their aim.
“SECDA belongs to all the communities of the region and, by implementation, all the people of the region. In view of this, we are also making special appeal to the leadership of South East Development Commission to formally adopt SECDA as one of its useful community-based organisations for the for the implementations of some of its programmes that are targeted at the grassroots,” he pleaded.
The former President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide and former Minister, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, represented by Godsown Onwuzurike, in his speech, lamented that South-East has the worst road network in the federation, stressing that roads in the zone do not make for the growth of a domestic market or the attraction of industries.
According to him, “The Enugu – Onitsha Expressway is still under construction since the end of the civil war. The internal roads communicating major towns in the South-East are either unpassable or unsafe. Our region is mostly unsafe because it has no viable economy that can employ our youths.
“This meeting must be seen as a wake-up call for all of us to support and advise the South East Development Commission to produce an agenda that will support our state governments, the Federal and our many enterprising industrialists.
“Agriculture is another low hanging opportunity which, if mechanized, will engage our youths and women productively and activate our latent potentialities. There is no reason we can’t be self sufficient in the production growth of yam, potatoes, cassava, tomatoes and various fruits.
“Our palm trees are mega in their capacity to generate nuts and oil heavily demanded in the international market and longing to be used by our industrialists in the production of other products like butter and shells for rural roads.”
He advised that meetings involving professionals of the South-East from economics, science, banking, pharmacy and many other fields should evolve and develop feasibility programs that can progress into bankable projects or government programs.
Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, who was represented by Barrister Michael Ani, in his speech, advised the association to set up an agenda for SEDC to work with.
He urged them to brainstorm and “put on a thinking cap and think of better ways the region can do things together.”
Kalu promised to give them the support they need to achieve their aims and objectives.
The lawmaker representing Oru West state constituency, Hon. Dominic Ugochukwu Ezenyiloha, in his speech, harped on Igbo unity, pointing out that all federal and important roads should be cued into SEDC.
He urged the Igbo people to come together and help the commission achieve better results.
He further advised SEDC to always select youths aged about 27 from the zone to join the military during recruitments for a higher position.
Furthermore, SECDA and other stakeholders during the conference urged SEDC to ensure that airports and seaports in the zone are brought to international standard and further advised the body to encourage industrialization of South-East in order to provide jobs for the youth.
