…As investor alerts governors of affected states to act intentionally

An economic hub bigger than Lagos may soon emerge in the South-South/South East of Nigeria. This is seen emerging along the Aba, PH, Uyo economic corridor in what an entrepreneur identified as the new ‘Economic Triangle’.

The Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, who has predicted this, has already alerted the governments of Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Abia states to take the right steps that would deliver the dream. If it becomes a reality, China said, the zone would be huge because of massive land within the area, seaports, airports, possible rail, and the biggest fabrication hub in West Africa as well as a burgeoning consumer market to serve as an off-taker hub that opens into the Gulf of Guinea.

China, a real estate success strategist who has won numerous local and international awards, revealed the upcoming possibility at the end of his business tour of Akwa Ibom State.

Speaking to newsmen in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, China, who is the managing director of the Housing and Construction Mayor Limited, said the envisaged economic corridor would create an option after Lagos and offer alternative to investors.

He said: “Talking about ‘Economic Triangle’, the only place that can wrest economic power from Lagos is the combination of Akwa Ibom, Abia, and Rivers states axis or corridor. This corridor contains more than Lagos has, if they can be interconnected with smooth roads, ports, and if their blue potentials are unlocked. They would even be more attractive to international investors because of presence of many green fields.”

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The investor who is behind the emerging Alesa Highlands Green Smart City in Eleme near Port Harcourt, also said the emerging ‘Economic Triangle’ has big potential due to massive land assets with the corridor plus blue economy and the existing hydrocarbon industry.

Explaining, Mayor of Housing said Aba (Abia State) provides the biggest fabrication hub in West Africa to supply goods to the Gulf of Guinea; Port Harcourt provides access to the Gulf of Guinea for off-taking Aba products, and the Uyo axis provides deep sea port at Ibaka and the largest international airport as well as forest reserves for massive agro-economy.

He said with river ports in Rivers State and deep seaport in Akwa Ibom, and international airports in Rivers and Akwa Ibom, Aba can focus on adequate power supply and fabrication boom to supply a new blossoming market around the economic triangle. “All that is needed is a rail route to connect Uyo from Aba and then Uyo to Port Harcourt, forming a rail triad or circuit along the economic triangle.”

By doing this, he said, jobs would spill out in huge numbers and more manufacturers would be drawn from all over Africa to the triangle to boost the fast coming African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). He said Nigeria would thus have two major trade nodes in West Africa; Lagos and the PH/UYO/Aba triangle.

He said goods going to or coming from Chad, Niger, and the rest of Central Africa can head to the Lagos ports or to the Ibaka/PH ports zone in the new ‘economic triangle’.

The CEO, a business strategist, said with power supply made stable, good roads, excellent security system, and ease of doing business enthroned in the zone by the governors, the south-south and south east would become the biggest economic nerve in the near future.

He explained how other states in the south-south and south-east would easily connect to the ‘economic triangle’ up to Enugu and Onitsha, Bayelsa and Delta, Calabar and Imo State.

The Mayor of Housing have some tips. He called on governors of the three states to be intentional about helping the new corridor to take emerge, put away political differences (if any), and create this corridor by agreeing on projects each state would execute with a short period of time so the states would be linked by good roads, communication, security, trade laws, concessions to investors, etc. In essence, he stated, travelers would hardly know when they passed from one state to the other within the business triangle.

He remarked that northern goods and businessmen were already heading to the Onne Port in Rivers State to export goods, saying creating a commission to oversee the development of the ‘Economic Triangle’ would fast-track its emergence.

He observed that people of the three states were known to be peaceful and were usually preoccupied by zeal for economic prosperity, saying that if they get linked to such huge opportunities staring at them in the emerging economic triangle, they would totally shun violence and focus on prosperity.

China insisted that the emerging economic triangle would form a big node not only into the Gulf of Guinea economic zone but into Africa because AfCFTA is about production, certification, market availability, and easy transport nodes by sea and air. He said the new economic triangle boasts of all these sensitive factors.

On how to achieve this, China gave advice thus: “They can only achieve this by working together, through collaboration. One state cannot do it but a triad of the three will create it through seamless interconnection, ports, industrial park, etc. A train service round the round route would move goods around at very cheap rates.

“People would get rich faster and the corridor would pump the biggest internally generated revenue (IGR) in the country.”

Observers say the three states are already budgeting above N3 trillion for 2026 year, getting close to Lagos State which has rolled out over N4 trillion for same year. The observers say if these financial and other assets could be intentionally focused on creating seamless economic system within the three states and get them interconnected, the perceived ‘economic triangle’ would come sooner than later.

The Mayor of Housing has thus called on governors of the three states who are already upbeat in infrastructure rebuilding to begin preliminary talks that may yield fruitful results in the near future towards realizing the emergence of the ‘economic triangle’.