VP Shettima Launches 25-Year South-East Economic Blueprint

Vice President Kashim Shettima has unveiled a 25-year economic development blueprint for Nigeria’s South-East region, describing it as a long-term strategy aimed at unlocking industrial growth, boosting infrastructure, and integrating the zone more effectively into the national economy.

The blueprint was launched on Wednesday in Enugu during a high-level economic summit attended by governors of the South-East states, private sector leaders, traditional rulers, and representatives of international development partners. Shettima said the plan was designed to harness the region’s entrepreneurial strengths while addressing long-standing infrastructure and investment gaps.

According to the Vice President, the roadmap focuses on five critical pillars: industrialisation, transport infrastructure, energy security, human capital development, and regional trade competitiveness. He noted that the South-East’s strategic location and strong manufacturing culture make it a natural hub for exports and value-added production.

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Shettima explained that the blueprint aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and would be implemented through coordinated efforts between federal and state governments, the private sector, and diaspora investors. He added that clear performance benchmarks and periodic reviews would guide implementation over the next two and a half decades.

“The South-East has always been a powerhouse of innovation and commerce. This plan is about removing the bottlenecks that have limited its full potential and creating a predictable environment for long-term investment,” Shettima said.

Governors from the region welcomed the initiative, describing it as a timely intervention that prioritises regional planning over fragmented projects. They pledged to harmonise state-level policies with the blueprint to ensure consistency and continuity across political administrations.

Private sector stakeholders at the event urged the Federal Government to back the plan with sustained funding, policy stability, and improved access to credit for small and medium-scale enterprises, which dominate the region’s economy.

Economic analysts said the success of the blueprint would depend largely on execution, particularly in power supply, road and rail connectivity, and security, which remain major concerns for investors.

The Vice President assured participants that the Federal Government was committed to addressing these challenges, stressing that the blueprint was not a political document but a generational development framework.