Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State and his Edo State counterpart, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, have committed to exploring opportunities in BRACED Commission.
BRACED is the acronym for Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta States, a commission formed by former governors from the six member states to strengthen their economic ties being from one region.
The governors, arising from a closed door meeting on Wednesday in Asaba, Delta, spoke on the reason for their meeting.
Obaseki, said he was in Delta to discuss the issues of common interests such as, economy, security, energy, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), among others.
He said the meeting was necessary because both states shared the longest boundary and historical background.
“I am here to congratulate my friend and brother for his victory at the polls and successful inauguration for a second term.
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“We came from the legacy Bendel State, we discussed economic cooperation between our states.
“Today, Edo and Delta can be the main power house of the country giving our energy and agriculture potentials.
” We looked into how to strengthen our economic ties and our participation in BRACED commission.
“We looked at insecurity in our common borders, especially, communal clashes and general insecurity.
“And we have agreed to ask the Assistant Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioners of Police to come up with a plan to restore security in our states,” he said.
Obaseki said they also agreed to ask for the inauguration of the NDDC advisory committee of governors and also, to work with our colleagues to improve governance in the commission.
“We are of the view that based on the resources the commission receives, there is need for improvement in project conception, sitting and executions.
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“This is because nothing stops the commission from using 50 per cent of its resources to solve the energy problem of the region.
“Also, a regional Master Plan is necessary for implementation by the NDDC and we also looked at the area of energy as Delta, Edo, Ondo and Ekiti States are major stakeholders in Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDEC).
“So, we need to be proactive to strengthen BEDEC to provide electricity to our people and restructure the company, so as to make it work efficiently for the region,” he said.
Okowa, on his part, said the meeting was that of brothers and neighbours to brainstorm on ways to move the states forward for a common good.
“It is a meeting between brothers, friends who are now governors and more interesting is that, our states belonged to the old Bendel.
He said though today’s meeting was not the first, his visit was to share ideas that would positively impact both states.
“He came with ideas that will move the our states forward.
“We want to leverage on our strong ties as members of old Bendel state, to better the lot of our people,” okowa said. (NAN).