South-South governors meeting in Calabar have said they will try to turn the Niger Delta into a single economic bloc and attached a political price: “100 per cent” support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

Bayelsa’s Douye Diri chairs the forum. Cross River’s Bassey Otu hosted. Akwa Ibom’s Umo Eno attended. Delta, Edo and Rivers sent deputies. The communiqué lists rail, revived ports in Calabar, Port Harcourt and Warri, and the Lagos–Calabar coastal highway as the spine of the plan. They want a joint pitch to investors and a coordinated conversation with Abuja on infrastructure and the environment.

Diri called the region a gas-industrial hub, a West African maritime gateway and a blue-economy zone that should not also carry the worst of the pollution. The BRACED Commission briefed on regional rail. The next sitting is booked for Uyo in November.

The economics and the endorsement are one package. Governors who need federal roads and port money rarely separate development talk from the ticket they will sell in two years. “100 per cent” is a forum line, not a counted vote. The zone still has parties, local machines and voters who do not sit in the communiqué room.

Whether Calabar becomes a powerhouse depends on whether the rail and ports leave paper. Whether 2027 follows the governors depends on whether the region still believes the bargain when the campaign starts. For now the statement is clear: they want one market in the Delta, and they have named the president they will stand behind while they ask for it.