On Tinubu’s genuine love for Anambra and the whole of the south-east

On the campaign trail for the 2023 presidential elections in Anambra, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu promised to work with Governor Chukwuma Soludo – a governor the President described as an intelligent man and as someone who ‘’knows the way’’. And today, as Nigeria’s president and head of government, President Tinubu is walking the talk. The President has even gone further to assure the south east that he would address some infrastructural issues that are dear to the hearts of south easterners.

A few days ago, Anambra State completed the rigorous application process with Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) required for the designation of the proposed Anambra Mixed Use Industrial City (AMIC) as a free trade zone. President Tinubu had earlier promised to give Anambra all the necessary support required to achieve a free trade zone status. With this application and expected designation, AMIC is expected to be Anambra’s manufacturing hub that would service Nigeria and the rest of Africa. As a free trade zone in Nigeria, AMIC is expected to enjoy the following advantages: tax exemptions, reduced red tape, and simplified customs procedures.

According to NEPZA’s website, there are 42 free trade zones (FTZ) in Nigeria. Also, NEPZA’s website reports that Nigeria has 28 operational free trade zones (FTZ) licenses with Lagos State having 13 FTZ operational licenses in this list. In this list of 28, the south east has only one in Enugu – i.e. the Enugu Industrial Park Free Zone which was designated as an FTZ in 2015. With Governor Soludo’s ambitious industrial manufacturing hub in the south east (the AMIC project) and President Tinubu’s support, this column believes many operational FTZ licenses will spring up in the south east.

On the development of the Anambra geological basin, which is made up of parts of the states of Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Imo, Delta, Edo, and Kogi, the President has vowed to develop this basin. This basin – which is estimated to contain around 30 trillion cubic feet of untapped gas and up to 1 billion barrels of oil – holds the key to the industrialization of the south east. It is not going to be an easy task developing this basin but this column believes that the President is determined to change the narrative in the south east. Apart from funding challenges, issues related to challenges in interpreting the basin’s complex stratigraphic structure and limited information on its subsurface data have hindered the speedy development of this basin.

On the Eastern Rail line connecting Port Harcourt to Maiduguri in north-eastern Nigeria, the President has vowed to complete this $3.2 billion project (the rail line stretches from Port Harcourt through the south-east, middle-belt, north-east and terminates in Maiduguri, Borno State). This project has been hampered by funding challenges since it was flagged-off 4 years ago. This project aims at reconstructing and expanding the existing narrow-gauge railway of this line. Currently, the Port Harcourt to Aba section of the line has been significantly rehabilitated. This column believes that President Tinubu has the capacity and experience to solve the current issues related to the unavailability of the 85% counterpart fund required to fast track this project. The foundation that President Tinubu left in Lagos has helped in the current railway revolution the country can now see in Lagos State.

On the need to connect  the south east corridor with the nation’s high-pressure gas infrastructure that has made the news in recent times, this column believes that President Tinubu will pursue the extension of spur lines from Obiafu–Obrikom–Oben (OB3) pipeline and Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) pipeline to the eastern corridor and the whole of the south east region, as the honorable minister for state for petroleum resources (gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, confirmed in a session with a senate committee.

President Tinubu has succeeded in stabilizing the current macroeconomic condition of Nigeria. Backlogs of forex liabilities have been cleared and the naira is now trading at a stable rate against the dollar. Recently, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NPC) announced a remarkable 20.79 percent increase in the value of the country’s non-oil exports, reaching a total of $5.456bn in 2024. In fact, without the current central bank’s policy interventions, Nigeria’s inflation would have surged to 42.81 percent by December 2024, according to Nigeria’s central bank governor, Olayemi Cardoso. Many financial analysts agree with him. The number of foreign investors knocking on Nigeria’s door has increased in the last months as a result of renewed confidence in Nigeria. There is no doubt that in the coming months the bold initiatives in Nigeria’s macro-economic environment that have been spearheaded by President Tinubu will start impacting the country’s microeconomic environment.

This column believes that President Tinubu is determined to make a difference in Nigeria. Despite the current challenges, the future of Nigeria is bright!

Nwankwo is the special adviser on special projects to Soludo.