Governors of the South-South geopolitical zone met on Tuesday in Bayelsa State and discussed issues affecting the region.
At the meeting held at the Government House in Yenagoa, the governors elected their host, Douye Diri, as the Chairman of the South-South Governors’ Forum.
His Cross River State counterpart, Bassey Otu, emerged as the Vice Chairman of the forum.
The Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, moved the motion nominating Diri while his Rivers State counterpart, Siminalayi Fubara, seconded it.
Also at the meeting was the Akwa Ibom Governor, Umo Eno, while his Edo State counterpart, Monday Okpebholo, was conspicuously absent.
In his remark, Diri said his emergence as chairman of the forum was a call to higher service and promised to serve the region diligently.
He said it was not an office for him alone but a collective task for all governors of the South-South to move the region forward.
He stressed that the forum would go beyond issuing communiqués to taking action in critical issues that affect the region’s development.
In his opening address, Diri said the objectives of the forum include fostering greater synergy among our states and advancing regional investments.
The governor listed the critical sectors for investments to include security, agriculture, education, power, environment, tourism, and youth empowerment through sports, ICT, and entrepreneurship.
He identified the South-South regional flight connection as one area of collaboration to ease air travel within the zone.
In a communiqué, the governors expressed support for the ongoing tax reforms initiated by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
They, however, urged the president to extend the proposed Value Added Tax (VAT) sharing to other areas of derivation like oil and gas.