Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has charged the South East Development Commission (SEDC) to produce a bold, focused and result-driven regional master plan capable of transforming the South East into Nigeria’s economic powerhouse by 2050.
Soludo gave the charge while delivering an extempore speech at the SEDC Vision 2050 Stakeholder Forum, held at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Enugu.
The governor described the establishment of the SEDC as a historic milestone, thanking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for responding to decades-long agitations by the people of the South East.
“For this singular act, Mr President can rightly be described as Ogugua Ndi Igbo,” Soludo said, adding that the commission marked only the first step toward addressing longstanding development gaps in the region.
He also commended his fellow South East governors for their unity, noting that unlike previous efforts, the region now has a shared vision and collective political will.
“Today is history in the making. For the first time, the governors are united. We must sing a new song,” he said.
Learning From Past Failures
Soludo warned against producing another elaborate development document that would fail to translate into real impact, recalling how earlier regional plans collapsed due to lack of political ownership.
“There have been many plans—national, regional and state-level. The critical question is: what will make this one different?” he asked.
According to him, one major reason past plans failed was the mistaken belief that policy could be divorced from politics.
“Technocrats often believe you can take politics out of policy. That is not how the real world works,” he said.
He urged the SEDC to produce an indicative, not prescriptive plan—one that de-risks investment, complements state development plans and focuses on areas where the commission can deliver measurable outcomes.
Soludo advised that at least 70 per cent of the plan should concentrate on projects directly within the SEDC’s mandate, warning against spreading resources across micro-interventions such as boreholes and short rural roads.
A Post-War Reconstruction Moment
The Anambra governor described the South East as being in a post-war reconstruction phase, citing the lingering effects of the Nigerian civil war and the more recent wave of insecurity that has devastated businesses, infrastructure and human capital in the region.
“After the civil war, there was a promise of rehabilitation and reconstruction. Over fifty years later, that promise is yet to be fulfilled,” he said.
According to Soludo, the SEDC must now serve as the instrument to finally deliver that long-overdue reconstruction agenda.
“This is why SEDC must see itself as the vehicle for Nigeria’s equivalent of a Marshall Plan for the South East,” he stressed.
He explained that the original Marshall Plan, executed by the United States between 1948 and 1951 to rebuild post-war Europe, involved massive, focused investment in infrastructure and industry—an approach the South East urgently needs.
Three Strategic Pillars
Soludo proposed that the South East Marshall Plan should be anchored on three core pillars:
- Regional Security Framework: He called for a coordinated security architecture, including a regional command-and-control centre and advanced surveillance technology to tackle criminality across forests and highways.
- Super Inter-State Infrastructure: The governor emphasized regional railways, highways, gas pipelines and seaports, revealing that President Tinubu had approved the inclusion of the South East in the national rail and gas master plans, as well as the dredging of the River Niger to enable operations at the Onitsha River Port. “SEDC must follow up and make these approvals real,” he said.
- Institutional Coordination and Collaboration: Soludo advocated stronger coordination through the SEDC and the South East Governors’ Forum to reduce transaction costs, improve the ease of doing business and promote peer learning across states.
Funding, Speed and Accountability
Soludo stressed that the proposed Marshall Plan would require dedicated funding from the federal government and the private sector, delivered within a clearly defined timeframe.
“This is an agenda with a deadline. Speed is of the essence,” he said, expressing hope that the South East would receive full funding for its Marshall Plan before the end of President Tinubu’s tenure in 2031.
He warned against excessive documentation and unrealistic targets, urging the SEDC to focus on tangible deliverables.
“Don’t give us a 500-page plan—give us rail lines. Don’t give us fancy charts—give us gas pipelines, highways and security,” he said.
Soludo concluded by stressing that only visible infrastructure and improved security would convince the over 35 million people of the South East that the opportunity presented by the SEDC was not wasted.
“This must not be another plan with ten per cent impact. Ndi Igbo want results they can see and feel,” he said.
