REACTIVATION  of Enugu  coal  mines:  Long before now, much of the economy of Eastern Nigeria was driven by the coal mines at Enugu which not only energized the Oji River Power Station for the energy needs of the area, but also provided  employment  outlets for the people.  Scores of industries at Aba , Nnewi and Onitsha axis, for instance, flourished on account of coal mining.

The abandonment of the mining of this crucial resource, followed the collapse of such industries with their collateral consequences to the economy of the entire zone and of Nigeria .  This situation should not be allowed to persist.  We, therefore, call for the reactivation of coal mining in Enugu because it will ultimately catalyze the economic and industrial resurgence of the entire nation.

Federal  appointments: It is hardly in doubt that the South-East zone has groaned under the weight of marginalisation with respect to federal appointments.  This unwittingly lends credence to the imperative of an additional state in the zone.  While we have not come to present a Charter of Equity to your administration, permit us to cite only two representative cases to buttress our contention on the marginalisation of the South-East in the area of appointments.

The Judiciary:  In spite of the large number of highly qualified legal luminaries in the zone, the South East is not proportionately represented at the Supreme Court or even at the Appeal Courts.  We invite Your Excellency to strengthen the application of Federal Character in appointments into the judiciary to correct the obvious disparities.

Heading of Federal Commissions:  While we acknowledge that it is the prerogative of the Federal Government to decide who is appointed to head its commissions and agencies, we are concerned that some of the commissions headed only recently by South-Easterners are now being progressively replaced by our brothers and sisters from other zones whenever changes are made in the headship of such commissions.

Some examples include the headship of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Bureau of Public Enterprises   (BPE), Police Service Commission (PSC), National Agency for Foods and Drug Administration (NAFDAC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Immigration Service, among others.  Our people will greatly appreciate it Sir, if you find people from our zone worthy to occupy similar positions in other sectors to mitigate their feeling of neglect.

Take over of Ebonyi State University  by the Federal Government: Ebonyi State is acknowledged as one of the educationally disadvantaged states in the country, and the only one in the South-East.  Incidentally, the state is one of the few states in the country (and the only one in the South-East zone) which does not have a single Federal university .  The situation in Ebonyi State is worsened by the fact of its low resource base which makes the funding   of   the   state   university   a   crushing burden to the state government. In the interest of equity and in order to redress the educational backwardness of the state, we earnestly plead with the Federal Government to take over Ebonyi State University as a federal institution.

The oil politics: The politicisation of oil and other solid mineral explorations in the country seems to have accounted for the non-exploitation of the crude oil and gas deposits in Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states.  It is sometimes contended in some quarters that the crude oil in these states can serve as a national strategic reserve for future use.

This has negatively impacted on the economy and financial profile of these states.  We request the Federal Government to commence the exploration and exploitation of the hydrocarbon deposits or make necessary financial accommodation for these states whose oil deposits have remained unexploited despite the fact that the technological changes in the oil industry makes their exploitation feasible.

Even more pathetic is the case of Abia State, which is acknowledged as an oil producing state and whose oil wells were farmed  out  to  neighbouring  states  with corresponding  loss  of revenue.  Even when the oil wells were restored, the derivation royalties and other financial accruals have not been released.  We appeal to Your Excellency to intervene to remedy the situation. We also seek Mr. President’s kind consideration to reactivate the Enugu depot of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which has for long not been functioning.

Federal roads: The state of roads in the South-East remains the worst nation-wide.  While we thankfully acknowledge Your Excellency’s sensitivity to the plight of our people, we wish to draw your attention to the fact that  many of the  contracts for road construction/rehabilitation in the zone are either not being funded or are not being diligently prosecuted.  The deplorable state of roads in the zone has adversely affected the social and economic well being of our long suffering people.  In other instances, the quality and pace of work on these roads are poor and frustrating.

The state governments in the zone have had to step in to ameliorate the problem by directly undertaking the reconstruction of some of these roads.  We plead with the Federal Government to strengthen the funding and supervision of the road contracts in the zone and effect the refunds to states for their intervention.

Conclusion: In raising the above concerns, we are not oblivious of the enormity of the challenges confronting your administration nor do we lose sight of the stiff competition for scarce resources.  We are, however, confident that the larger national interest driven by the ideals of equity and fairness would inform the spread of projects, appointments or other incentives, and of course, the corresponding sacrifices.

We, therefore, plead with you Sir, to appraise our requests in relation to the situation in other geo-political zones of the country and make the necessary remediation.

Once more, we thank you most sincerely for the privilege of this audience and we reassure you Sir, of our solidarity and partnership with you and your administration at all times.  We pray God to remain your anchor and to guide and protect you in your national service.

Excerpts form the speech delivered by Governor Peter Obi when the South East Governors and Leaders of Thought met with the President on July 19, 2010

Excerpts form the speech delivered by Governor Peter Obi when the South East Governors and Leaders of Thought met with the President on July 19, 2010