The Southern Solidarity Alliance (SSA) has renewed its call for deeper unity among states in southern Nigeria, insisting that only collective strength can protect the region’s interests and improve the lives of its people.
The organisation made the appeal during its 2025 End-of-Year Breakfast Programme in Lagos, themed “United We Stand.”
In his keynote address, National Coordinator Ndubuisi Okafor told senators, lawmakers, technocrats and community leaders that the South must consistently speak with one voice on national issues.
He described FESTAC as a symbolic reflection of Southern diversity, stressing that the region’s 17 states—from Abia to Rivers, Lagos to Oyo—share the same aspirations for equity and progress.Okafor highlighted the heavy socioeconomic and security burdens borne by everyday Southerners, saying events of 2025 reaffirmed the urgent need for fairness and justice.
He listed SSA’s major demands, including regional unity, emergency intervention on federal roads, protection of Southern political and economic rights, a ban on open grazing, flushing out terrorists from forests, resource control, merit-based governance, and equal treatment between the North and South.
He reiterated that self-determination is a democratic right and not treason, calling again for the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
According to him, insecurity in Southern communities—marked by kidnappings, killings and extortion—has reached unacceptable levels, and the Federal Government must respond decisively.
Okafor urged leaders across the South-West, South-East and South-South to close ranks ahead of an All-South Summit planned for early 2026.
He encouraged Southerners at home and abroad to join SSA and support its advocacy efforts, saying the pursuit of justice, equality and development for the region remains a shared responsibility.
Reporting by Innocent Onoh