Governors of the South-East and South-South zones have pledged to work together to tackle the growing cases of oil theft in the region.
The governors made the pledge on Sunday, in Enugu, at a meeting of governors from the South-East and South-South zones.
Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi; Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and his Imo State counterpart, Rochas Okorocha, did not attend the meeting.
No reason was given for their absence.
A source said the other eight governors began the meeting by 3pm after waiting for more than two hours for Amaechi, Oshiomhole and Okorocha to show up.
The eight governors that attended the meeting were Theodore Orji (Abia), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa-Ibom), Peter Obi (Anambra), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Liyel Imoke (Cross-River) and Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta).
Others were Martin Elechi (Ebonyi) and the host Governor, Sullivan Chime, of Enugu State.
Addressing journalists at the end of the meeting, Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum and Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, said, “We discussed how the two zones will work together economically in the area of infrastructure.
“Akwa-Ibom and Abia states have reached an understanding with the private sector to reconstruct and dualise the bad Ikote-Ekpene–Aba road to improve commerce within the corridors of both states.
“We discussed issues of oil theft and how to curb the theft. We discussed the issue of ethnic harmony between these zones and how to promote it.”
The governors commended President Goodluck Jonathan for his various programmes, saying, “His mid-term report clearly shows that the transformation agenda is on course, and we pledge to continue supporting him.”