THE governors of the Niger Delta states have agreed to set up a 24- man economic committee to be headed by Prof. Pat Utomi. The committee will host an economic summit for the region next year.

The governors reached this decision after a meeting in Port Harcourt that lasted till late Wednesday night. Present at the meeting were all the six governors from the region including Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, Liyel Imoke of Cross River State and Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State .

Chairman of the South/South Governors Forum, and Governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke, said the summit was slated for the first quarter of 2009.

He said the South/South governors had approved the setting up of a 24-member planning committee for the economic summit with four persons drawn from each of the six states of the region, to work out details of the planned summit.

Imoke said the Utomi committee was set to "further the vision of the governors of the region to work together to develop our economy for the growth and development of the oil-producing states of Nigeria .

" According to him, "the Port Harcourt meeting is a follow-up to the last meeting of the governors at Yenagoa, where we resolved to work in an integrated fashion to achieve common shared ideals."