Ngozi Okojo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has advised South-East stakeholders to unite in a bid to tackle the challenges encountered by the region collectively.

Okonjo-Iweala gave the advice in her keynote address to the South-East Summit on Security and Economy, which kicked off in Owerri recently.

The theme of the two-day summit is ‘South East Beyond 2023, Time for a Reset’.

Okonjo-Iweala said: “We no longer have solidarity; instead, we are fragmented as a people, and that has made us forget how to support each other. If our big problem is ourselves, it means that the solution also lies in our hands.”

She stressed the need for the region to improve its internally generated revenue, reduce borrowing and improve capital expenditures.

She said: “Governors, state legislatures and local government chairs must continuously ask themselves, are we using our FAC allocation wisely, transparently and effectively? Can we generate more revenue internally, and how do we do it while motivating our productive sectors and factors? Are we taking on too much debt? Are we even spending the amount borrowed effectively?”

Okonjo-Iweala advised the region to grab the opportunity of privatization in the electricity sector to look towards solar and gas solutions to make power supply better.

She said: “I want to suggest that we convene a South-East investment forum, not for people from outside the region or abroad but for our own Igbo business people. In this forum, we should examine what is blocking greater investment in the South-East region and what we can do to block these leakages.”

The former Minister emphasized the need for the region to look into diversifying and attracting investments in the supply chain of pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, labour-intensive industries as well as digital technology.

Also, she advised the stakeholders to take advantage of the gains of digital trade for micro, small and medium enterprises, online education, health and accounting services.

She advised the region to tap from its diaspora resources to improve the health sector.

She said: “I am sure the South-East governors, coming together, can do some financial engineering and find a way to float a South-East diaspora bond or fund to capture some loans and tenured to financing some development priorities.”

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