South East region is one of the six geo-political regions that makes up Nigeria. The region is dominated by Igbos which is one of the major tribes in Nigeria.
South East shares borders with two other regions in Nigeria due to the location of some of the states that make up the region. The region has a border with the South-South region and the North Central region on the Northern side of Nigeria making the region to be closer to the North.
The defunct Eastern region constituted some of the states found in the present-day South-South region and it has made South East have a peculiar closeness to some states located in the South-South region perhaps because some Igbo communities are located in some of the states in South-South, especially in Delta and Rivers State. Some States like Imo and Abia State are also included in Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) thereby increasing the region to have similarities and friendly ties with States in South – South.
In the era of the former Premier of the defunct Eastern region led by Dr. Michael Iheonukara Okpara, the Eastern region was projected to be the fasted developing region in Africa due to some of the developmental frameworks and policies introduced by M.I. Okpara in areas of agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructural developments.
Things are currently changing in the region after the 2023 General elections in Nigeria as most of the states in South East Nigeria elected new Governors that have laudable wealth of experience in private or public services with glaring ambition to transform their states into a power house of economic developments.
The Governor of Abia State His Excellency Alex Otti is all over the media spaces due to his huge investment in infrastructural development that is transforming major cities in Abia State into a manufacturing hub of South East Nigeria. He is building roads, cutting down the cost of governance, cleaning up Abia State, and making ease of doing business favorable for private sectors. His style of governance is making him to be loved by his people and also contributing to the development of Abia State which the impacts of the development impacts other States in the region positively. Aba is located in Abia State and is known for production and manufacturing, especially in fashion.
In Enugu State, the Governor of the State His Excellency Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah is making positive impacts in the State with his ambition of raising the GDP of the State into a $30 billion economy. He is building roads and investing in education through the introduction of smart schools, giving a large percentage of the state budget to the education sector, investing in agriculture through- -industrialization, and moving to build gigantic infrastructural projects like his recent move to build a bus terminal at Market road known as Holy Ghost where demolition of obstructing properties in the place is ongoing in a bid to make the place better for business improvement and development. During his campaign, he made a promise to give the Enugu people Water within his 180 days in office which many places recorded running water and water galleries in his 180 days in office with intensified efforts to generate more water supply to serve the Enugu people well.
In Anambra State, the State is led by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and a professor of economist Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo who has told Anambra people that solutions to all their problems have arrived. The State is notable for commercial activities as seen in Onitsha and Nnewi where people visit from other states in Nigeria including neighboring African countries just to buy goods, especially in automobile spare parts. In his way, he seems to be trying to fulfill his campaign promises to his people which the development will impact South East if properly implemented.
In Imo State, the Governor His Excellency Hope Uzodinma is a former senator and successful businessman who just won his second re-election bid to complete two tenures of eight years. He is politically connected as the strong leader in the ruling party All Progressive Congress (APC) and it is expected of him to use his good office to attract development in the South East region.
In Ebonyi State, the Governor took over from the incumbent Federal Minister of Works Engr Dave Umahi who led the state to record many infrastructural projects in road construction, health, education, and aviation sectors thereby opening up the state to compete favourably in economic development. The incumbent Governor is consolidating his predecessor’s track record and making Ebonyi State to be a powerful state in Nigeria.
The individual contributions of the Governors of the five states found in South East Nigeria are greatly making impacts in the region and opening up the region faster than before in line with attaining the development plans of Late Dr. Michael Okpara.