By Udeigwe Chidera

The Forum of South-East Academic Doctors (FOSAD) has called on stakeholders in the South-East geopolitical zone of the country to prioritize lasting peace as the cornerstone for unlocking economic growth and development in the region. The group made the call in its new year message.

Comprising five states – Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo – the South-East has faced historical socio-political challenges that have impeded its full economic potentials. FOSAD emphasizes that achieving sustainable peace is not solely a matter of security but a catalyst for unlocking the economic opportunities that can elevate the entire geopolitical zone ahead of others.

The group sees relationship between lasting peace and economic growth in South-East Nigeria as symbiotic and mutually reinforcing. Therefore FOSAD contends that prioritizing and maintaining peace is not only a moral imperative but an economic necessity for the region.

FOSAD believes that creating enduing peace in the region will increase investor’s confidence in business, infrastructure and human capital development, agricultural productivity, entrepreneurship and small business growth, social welfare and poverty reduction.

FOSAD urges the five governors in the South-East to form alliances, leveraging both human and material resources to ensure sustainable peace in the region.