Southern Govs To Commission Regional Master Plan For Rail, Road, Air Connectivity
Governors from the southern part of Nigeria under the aegis of the Southern Governors’ Forum have disclosed their plans to commission a regional multimodal transport master plan for rail, road, air and water transportation connectivity.
This, the governors said, is to facilitate interstate, intra-regional movement of persons, goods and services and enhance the ease of doing business in the region.
This was contained in a communique issued at the end of their meeting held on Monday, June 25, 2024, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, which was made available to journalists on Thursday.
In the 16-point communique, the Forum advocated that the Federal Government should rehabilitate, repair and reconstruct Trunk A roads and transfer roads to states. The Forum highlighted the need to address the inadequate power supply in the region, pointing out that the south is the economic and industrial hub of the country.
The Forum further called for strengthening of fiscal federalism and devolution of powers and expressed concern over current practices where mineral licenses are issued and explorations undertaken without recourse to state governments.
It noted that issuing mineral licenses without carrying the states along have resulted in criminal activities, attendant negative environmental impact, ecological degradation, and with no remediation commitment or revenue accruing to the states or the Federal Government.
“The Southern Governors advocated that the Federal Government should rehabilitate, repair and reconstruct Trunk A roads and transfer roads to States that have expressed interest in taking them over.
“The Forum will commission a regional multimodal transport master plan that will prioritise connectivity of rail, road, air and water transportation, to facilitate interstate, intra-regional movement of persons, goods and services and thereby enhancing the ease of doing business .
“Being the economic and industrial region of the country, the Forum highlighted the need to address the inadequate power supply in the region. Member states were encouraged to take advantage of the recent constitutional amendment that now allows States to regulate, generate, transmit and distribute electricity whilst also considering optional sources like renewables.
“The Forum resolved further to aggressively embark on energy transition plan from fossil fuels (petrol and diesel) to cleaner energy and specifically CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) and ultimately EV’s (Electric Vehicles) to help reduce the cost of transportation, which will lower the cost of food, goods and services for our citizens and residents,” the communique partly reads.
“Still on fiscal federalism, the Forum discussed the issue of solid mineral exploration and exploitation which remains on the Exclusive List in the constitution. Members expressed concern over current practices where mineral licenses are issued and exploitations undertaken without recourse to State governments. These have resulted in criminal activities, attendant negative environmental impact, ecological degradation and with no remediation commitment or revenue accruing to the States or Federal Government.”
The Forum resolved further to aggressively embark on energy transition plan from fossil fuels (petrol and diesel) to cleaner energy and specifically CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) and ultimately EV’s (Electric Vehicles) to help reduce the cost of transportation, which will lower the cost of food, goods and services for our citizens and residents.
The governors also agreed to establish the Southern States Development Agenda (SSDA), which will be saddled with the responsibility of fostering trade and investment, sustainable growth and development, economic prosperity, social harmony and food security for the region.
In addition, they resolved to continue to advocate for the creation of state police against the backdrop of the success of our regional community based security outfits, which have been effective in intelligence gathering. This, they noted, will truly enable governors to be the Chief Security Officers of their respective states in deed.
On the minimum wage, the Forum unanimously agreed that it should be reflective of the cost of living and ability to pay, and each state be allowed to negotiate their minimum wage.
