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Tag: SEDC

  • Minister, senators task SEDC, NEDC members on transparency, accountability

    Minister, senators task SEDC, NEDC members on transparency, accountability

    …Momoh insists it’s Edo’s turn to head NDDC

    The Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, Chairman Senate Committee on South East Development Commission (SEDC), Senator Orji Kalu and his counterpart on the North West Development Commission (NWDC), Senator Babangida Hussaini have urged members of both commissions to avoid corrupt practices and ensure accountability and transparency in all they do.

    They also cautioned the members against engaging in unhealthy competition with state governments within their area of coverage, but to collaborate with them to ensure that their activities meet the needs of the people and impact positively on their respective regions.

    Momoh, Kalu and Hussaini spoke in Abuja on Tuesday during the inauguration of the boards of the SEDC and the NWDC.

    The minister, who commended President Bola Tinubu for his prompt assent to the Bills establishing the commissions and the National Assembly for coming up with the Bills, said the commissions are intended by the Federal Government to ensure even and speedy development in all regions of the country.

    He urged the commissions to align their programmes a d activities with the key priority areas of the the President ‘s Renewed Hope Agenda, which includes reform the economy for sustained and inclusive growth; strengthen national security for peace and prosperity; improve agriculture to achieve food security, and harness energy and natural resources for sustainable development, and  enhance infrastructure as enablers of growth.

    Other priority areas, he added, are focus on education, health and social investment as essential pillars of development; accelerate diversification through industrialisation, digitisation, creative arts, manufacturing and innovation; improve governance for effective service.

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    You must adhere strictly with due process at all times and all relevant laws in that regard. You must particularly comply with the provisions of the Procurement Act and other financial regulations in force.

    Every contracts above the threshold of the commission is to be referred to the ministry and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) as the case may be. Any breach of contract approval limit attracts severe sanctions.

    He said the law setting up the commission makes his ministry the supervisory body over the commission, which powers are exercisable by the minister.

    Momoh added: “I urge you to form strong partnership with state governments, the private sector a d development partners to maximise resources and expertise, while also engaging local communities to ensure inclusivity and their participation in the development process.”

    The minister faulted the call for the replacement of the current Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with someone from Delta State.

    He said such call was misplaced, noting that even when the current NDDC MD ends his tenure, it will be the turn of Edo State to produce a successor, and not Delta state.

    Kalu urged members of both commissions to ensure that they focus on project that add value to the life of the people.

    He added: “Go in and look for new innovations. Innovations like building common railway systems for the regions, building common power plants, building cottage industries that will serve our people and engage the unemployed.

    “If you produce groundnuts and you don’t add value by processing them, you have done nothing. If you produce coal in Enugu and you do not process it, you have also not achieved nothing. Let us use our God given natural resources to energise our economy.

    “Our duty in the Senate is to look at your budget and  look at the projects you are doing. Be rest assured that, in our duty to oversight and as inspectors ,we will inspect you very well.

    “The minister has told you to use the people’s money for the people. Make decent profit. Don’t go there and steal like they used to do in the NDDC until the current Managing Director stopped it,” Kalu said.

    The ex-Abia State Governor  commended the leadership of the North East Development Commission, which he said has initiated projects that have positively impacted on the region.

    Hussaini, who spoke in similar vein, urged members of both commissions not to betray the trust reposed in them by those who found them worthy of such appointments.

    “For us at the Senate, we will chase the money. We will prepare your budget and ensure that Nigerians get value for their money,” he said.

    Chairman of the SEDC, Senator Emeka Wogu and his counterpart in the NEDC, Prof Lawal Abdullahi assured that they would do their best to discharge their duties creditably.

  • SEDC: Poised for development

    SEDC: Poised for development

    By Mike Ukoha

    Firstly, permit me to say that all has been put in place for the South East Development Commission (SEDC), to flourish and achieve the purpose for which President Bola Tinubu established it. Recently, the 18-member board was successfully screened and approved by the senate, and its inauguration, we heard, is a few days away.

    As clearly stated in the Act, the Commission has a Board Chairman – Chief Emeka Wogu, a former Minister of Labor/Productivity, Managing Director/CEO – Mark Okoye, five executive directors, five state representatives; and five Zonal representatives.

    The day to day running and decision-making processes are vested in the carefully chosen board members of the  commission. And we say thanks to President Bola Tinubu for nominating men and women of integrity to pilot the affairs and set a solid foundation for its take off.

    Also, thanks go to the Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu and his colleagues who sponsored the bill and lobbied for its passage and signing into law.

    It is in the public domain that the National Assembly created two standing committees – House and Senate Committees. These committees have oversight functions to ensure that the commission is performing its functions as enacted in the Act. The oversight functions are periodical or whenever deemed necessary by the Committees. 

    It is common knowledge that in the National Assembly, the House Committee performs more than 60% of the oversight functions while the Senate committee does less than 40%. It is pertinent to state that NASS committees have no executive functions but must ensure that the commission is executing social, economic, and developmental programs as appropriated in the annual budget.

    On Tuesday, October 2, 2024, the House of Representatives appointed the pioneer committee chairman of the recently created South East Development Commission (SEDC),  Hon. Chris Nkwonta, the member representing the good people of Ukwa East/West federal constituency, in the green chamber, has written his name in gold. 

    In the same vein, on February 3, 2025, the Senate replicated the gesture, by appointing Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, representing Abia North Senatorial District in the Red Chamber to Chair the Senate Committee. 

    This is a welcome development, being that as a newly created commission major mandate is to tackle and help develop the Southeast region, their  committees in its oversight functions have a great responsibility to tackle.

    Our people in the Southeast patiently waited for 54 years for the commission to be established. They expect the commission to actualize the reconstruction, reconciliation, and reintegration of the Southeastern. This is our golden opportunity to replan and develop the region.

    It will be a monumental disservice to our people if the chairmen of committees in the National Assembly use their positions to unduly interfere in the operations and functions of the commission. However, their oversight functions are expected to be carried out without compromise.

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    Nigerians, particularly those from the Igbo community, have high expectations from the commission’s leaders. It is crucial that their trust and confidence are not betrayed. 

    There is a need for the pioneer Chairman of the committee in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chris Nkwota and the Chairman of the committee in the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, to always do their oversight functions with synergy and high sense of responsibility, in order to achieve an accelerated development in the region. By doing so, personal interest, must be eschewed, while the mission, vision and provisions expected to help in moving the Southeast forward is genuinely pursued.

    I therefore urge the Commission’s Board Chairman  ably led by Nwadiala Chief Emeka Wogu, to as a matter of urgency, mobilize his wonderful team to action in the quest to achieve the lofty desires of Ndigbo. And if we all wish to see a better Southeast of everyone’s dream, there is need to avoid bitterness, clanishness, gossip, and pull him down syndrome, which has been the barn in our society today. All hands must be on deck.

    Ukoha is former Minority Whip Abia House of Assembly.

  • SEDC: ‘President Tinubu deserves kudos for reversing years of Igbo relegation’

    SEDC: ‘President Tinubu deserves kudos for reversing years of Igbo relegation’

    The Chairman, Security, Climate Change, and Special Interventions Committee on the Governing Board of North East Development Commission (NEDC), Sam Onuigbo has commended President Bola Tinubu for constituting the board of the South East Development Commission (SEDC).

    In a statement on Sunday in Abuja, Onuigbo said the President has equipped the commission to intervene in a special way to address the wounds of the past through psychological healing.

    He noted that by expeditiously assenting to the bill for the creation of SEDC after its checkered passage by the 10th National Assembly, the President did what other Nigerian leaders before him could not do.

    Onuigbo, who represents South East geopolitical zone in the Governing Board of NEDC said that the SEDC has unique and specialised roles to play and promises to fulfill for the region after the intense devastations of the civil war.

    He declared that the South East interventionist commission was coming more than 54 years after a proclamation to address the promises of the triple Rs- Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, and Reintegration–which were virtually abandoned by successive military and civilian administrations.

    Onuigbo, who served two terms as the representative of Ikwuano/Umuahia North and Umuahia South Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, remarked that as a man of history, President Tinubu has touched a sensitive nerve to heal deep-seated wounds of the past.

    He stated: “In all honesty, President Tinubu deserves special thanks from the people of South East, because for more than half a century, the scars of the civil war remained with us in terms of infrastructure despoliation, social disconnection and economic tribulation.

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    “By signing the South East Development Commission establishment bill into law and following it up with the constitution of its members, the President has equipped the commission to intervene in a special way to address the wounds of the past through psychological healing.

    “The SEDC has come to remove the nagging feelings of distrust and socio-economic marginalization among the people of South East. For rising to this historical challenge, special thanks should go to President Tinubu.”

    He therefore charged the pioneer members of SEDC to work extra hard with uncommon unity of purpose to lay a solid foundation for the commission by achieving great milestones, even as he urged the members to do all in their powers to reenact the past global rating of South East as one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

    He commended the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, saying he (Kalu) “has succeeded in writing his name in gold by that momentous legislation.”

  • SEDC to the rescue

    SEDC to the rescue

    • By Johnson Chukwuka

    The clamour for accelerated development of the southeast region got a big boost recently when President Bola Tinubu signed into law, the South East Development Commission SEDC (Establishment) Bill 2023.

    The president’s assent to the bill must have gladdened the hearts of the people of the zone in view of the setback the previous one suffered in the 9th National Assembly. Then, the bill had scaled through the concurrent legislative approval of both chambers of the National Assembly raising hopes that it would easily scale through presidential assent.

     But for some inexplicable reasons, that hope was dashed. Former president, Muhammadu Buhari failed to assent to it despite the prospects it held for a zone that has suffered adversely from the devastations of the civil war. Nothing was again heard of that bill before the last National Assembly wound up.

    The fate of the bill ruffled feathers, reinforcing allegations of alienation and marginalisation of that part of the country within the national scheme of affairs. And for a country that had been addressing regional challenges through such development agencies as the Niger Delta Development Commission and its Northeast counterpart, it was inconceivable that SEDC could not see the light of the day. But that setback did not in any way diminish the momentum of the agitations.

    Apparently responding to the yearnings of the zone, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu was quick to sponsor a new bill which expeditiously got the concurrent legislative approval of both chambers of the National Assembly. The quick sail of the bill showed its national appeal. Good a thing and unlike his predecessor, President Tinubu saw sufficient reasons to give quick assent to the bill.

    This is heart-warming. The president deserves commendation for summoning the required political will to assent to the bill. Of note also are the roles played by the sponsor of the bill and his colleagues in the National Assembly for seeing to the need for the SEDC bill to scale through.

    Through the commission, the president seeks to ensure the ‘reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses and other infrastructural damages suffered by the zone’. 

    Additionally, SEDC will tackle ecological and other environmental or developmental challenges in south east states. The president’s assent according to his media aide, Ajuri Ngalele underscores his belief in building the nation as the fulcrum for fairness, equity and unity by ensuring equitable development and inclusive governance.

    That is the way to go.  The long years of agitations from the southeast zone for some form of special federal intervention to address the infrastructural deficits that had for long plagued the region gives further justification for the establishment of the commission. It is a thing whose time has come.

    The federal government had after the civil war, announced a policy of “No Victor, No Vanquished” with Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation as its major programme thrust. But these programmes rarely went beyond the confines of the offices where they were pronounced.

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    It is a measure of the inability of these programmes to take effective root that cries of alienation and marginalisation have remained the sing song of the people of the zone more than 53 years thereafter. Good enough, the same reconstruction and rehabilitation mantra of the post-civil war era have again resonated as the basis for the setting up of the SEDC. That in itself is a big statement.

    The SEDC law therefore marks a significant step in the march to addressing the plethora of infrastructural deficits that had held the development of the zone down despite their hallmark community development efforts. Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu had while justifying the creation of the commission, said it will help post war reconstruction that has not been attended to for over 53 years.

    “The commission shall conceive, plan and implement projects and programmes for the sustainable development of the southeast states in the fields of transportation, health, education, employment and industrialisation” he had said.  It will also implement measures approved for the development of the southeast by the federal government, identify factors inhibiting the development of the southeast states, assist them in policy formulation and implementation to ensure sound and efficient management of resources.

    The commission, he further said, will additionally tackle ecological and environmental problems that may arise from the mining and extraction of solid and oil minerals from the zone among other functions.

     Coincidentally, Kalu has also through another pet project, been at the forefront of the campaign for the rapid development of the southeast. Through the instrumentality of an initiative called Peace in the South East Project (PISE-P) he seeks non-kinetic approach to resolving the security challenges confronting the zone.

    At the launch of the project in the Bende Local Government Area of Abia State last year, with the Vice President Kashim Shettima and some governors in attendance, he had said the PISE-P is a five-year peace-building and development initiative designed to address the complex socio-economic challenges and security issues facing the southeast region.

    There is a measure of alignment between the objectives which the PISE-P is meant to serve and the policy thrust driving the establishment of the SEDC. These are no doubt, very high-minded goals with promises of quantum infrastructural and human capital development for the region.

    But that is the end of the matter. The president has done well by assenting to the bill establishing the SEDC. The heightened enthusiasm generated by the president’s assent is a measure of how long that zone has been longing for special federal intervention to rescue it from years of infrastructural neglect and decay.

    It is hoped that soon, SEDC will assume its deserved pride of place among similar regional development intervention programmes. But extreme care must be exercised in the setting up the structures and appointing key officials to run the agency. This is vital to insulate the commission for the undue corruption and possible politicization that had been the fate of its sister agencies.

    For SEDC to fully discharge on its mandate, adequate funding is paramount. An organisation that is taking off from the bud requires adequate funding to make the required impact.

    The SEDC comes at a time the southeast governors are considering leveraging on the comparative advantages of their respective states for economy of scale. At their economic and security summit last year in Owerri, Imo State, they had reached consensus on the security and economic integration of the region.

    The reading of this commitment is that the five states in the zone will identify and execute common development projects that will save them resources and enhance the overall good of people of the zone. That is the way to go if the political will is there.

    The SEDC will provide another framework for these states to jointly pursue such cross-cutting projects. For such objectives to be more meaningfully and realistically pursued, their governors must place the collective interests of the peoples of the zone over personal, political and interests of self-serving nature. This can be done by identifying actionable projects that will serve the collective interests of the states under the commission.

    The zone has serious challenges in the area of roads, power supply, portable water and erosion. Some of the federal roads in the zone are at the moment, in a state of disrepair while others have been cut off by devastating erosion. Southeast governors, working closely with the commission when fully ground, should be able to identify and execute joint programmes for the good of their people and save cost.

    It is hoped the SEDC will in the days ahead be the fulcrum for addressing the infrastructural and developmental deficits in the zone and consign to the dustbin of history years of alienation, inequity and marginalisation. That is the new hope rekindled by the president’s assent to the SEDC bill.

    •Chukwuka wrote from Lagos.

  • SEDC and development of Southeast region

    SEDC and development of Southeast region

    By Ejike Anyaduba

    Since the end of the Nigeria – Biafra war of 1967-1970, not much government development is evident in the geopolitical space called the Southeast region of Nigeria. Efforts to mitigate the devastation of the 30-month war in the region, where most of the fighting took place, were not helped by the thoughtful but poorly executed policy of reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Gowon-led federal government. The dead hand of bureaucracy and the corruptive influences of successive governments ensured that no appreciable progress was made. But where it was made at all, which was few and far between, it was soon neglected and allowed to go into disuse. Not long before, the people began to interpret the government’s actions as a deliberate attempt to deprive them of the right to equal citizenship with the rest of Nigerians and keep them in servile fearfulness.

    Thus, establishing the South East Development Commission (SEDC) is a welcome break after years of importunity. Among other objectives, the Commission will address the noticeable development imbalance in the South East region, assuage the people’s fear of marginalisation, and ensure peace.

    Underscoring the Commission’s roles, the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, said after passing the bill: “I want to say congratulations to you all and pray that this Commission will bring a lot of development and will also assist you in stopping any formal agitation and bringing peace to the region.”

    It may be fair to argue that the effort at establishing the South East Development Commission was a tortuous one which predates the 10th National Assembly. Many law makers from the South East region, including Hon. Ifeanyichukwu Ibezi had duringthe 9th Assembly tried to get the SEDC bill passed. The argument has been that a development commission in the nature of the Niger Delta and North East Commissions which address issues of militancy and terrorism respectively was required in the South East to help her develop and recover from the ruins of the civil war.

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    But the efforts were not rewarded as former President Muhammadu Buhari failed to assent to the bill. It took its reintroduction in December 2023 by Hon. Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, Senator Stella Oduah, and a few other law makers from the South East for the bill to be passed and assented to by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu. No doubt the Tinubu administration demonstrated deep economic knowledge that  contrast with the tunnel vision of his predecessor who did not see the great promise an established  South East Development Commission holds.

    For rising to the occasion, and signing the South-East Development Bill into law, the South-East Governors, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other stakeholders have lauded President Tinubu for his great decision. Hon Ifeanyichukwu Ibezi in particular thanked President Tinubu, for his thoughtfulness in signing the bill into law and ending decades of yearning for a commission that will oversee development in the South East region. “President Tinubu has shown thoughtfulness and courage in signing the SEDC Bill into law. He has done what those before him were unable to do and I pray  the Commission is adequately funded so as to enable it tackle the enormous challenge before it”.

    The Commission which is to oversee and handle development projects in the South East region is structured to be managed by a comprehensive board, comprising credible and experienced individuals appointed by the government. Its source of funding may include, but not limited to federal allocation grants, donations and other legitimate avenues. It is expected to plan, execute and monitor developmental projects as well as collaborate with state and local government within the South East region for ease of growth expansion. The bill establishing the Commission envisaged possible corruption and misuse of funds thereby ensuring that there is provision for transparency and accountability in its operations.

    Though the Commission is still in its infancy and can seldom boast of any experience unlike similar commission already in existence namely the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), it is expected to be purpose-driven and diligent if it must accomplish its many objectives. As a matter of fact, infrastructural expansion, economic growth, social and equitable development are some of the core objectives the Commission is to tackle. Without belabouring the fact, federal infrastructure in the South East like roads, bridges, healthcare facilities, and educational institutions etc. is about the worse, if not the worst, in the country. The many years of neglect have left them in decrepit condition, leaving the people frustrated and the youths easily  inflamed to passionate agitation and occasional armed struggle. Economic growth of the region was not better handled as few federal government industries in the region are under-performing or completely moribund. It is expected that the South East Development Commission will stimulate economic activities by addressing obvious historical neglects and disparities and by also improving the quality of life of the people through enhanced social amenities and services.  The Commission is  to take into consideration the inequitable development across Nigeria by focusing on achieving balance in the region within  its period of operation.

    The Commission is also empowered to tackle the ecological and other related environmental problem ravaging the entire region. It is to be noted that a good chunk of the South East region which by the way is almost the smallest in the country is under threat of gully erosion. Many people have in the last decade or two been forced out of their ancestral homes as a result of this hazard.  It is obvious that the efforts of the five governors of the region alone in contending with the problem cannot suffice without support from the federal government. But with the South East Development Commission in place, it is easy to focus on comprehensive development plan that will tackle the ecological hazard and handle rural and urban development in the region better. This will help unlock the region’s potentials and impact the overall growth of Nigeria’s economy.

    The Commission is more likely to succeed than not if the pioneer managers are diligent enough, and are ready to eschew selfishness and work for economic liberation of the South East. It can leverage the business prowess of the people, their agricultural and entrepreneurial skills to give industrialization of the region a shot in the arm. But more than that, the Commission will succeed if it is well funded and not abandoned soon after being established. Once it is well funded and measures put in place to ensure accountability, South East development is assured and the cry of marginalization a thing of the past. It is a new dawn for economic expansion of the South East region.      

    Ejike Anyaduba writes from Abatete

  • SEDC and the rest of the Southeast

    SEDC and the rest of the Southeast

    Sir: President Bola Tinubu has signed the South East Development Commission into law, signalling the federal government’s recognition of the pressing need to develop the Southeast beyond relying solely on the state leaders.

    Despite the responsibilities placed on the governors for governance, their performance has been lacking over the years. The commission’s primary objective is to crystalize development in the Southeast and I hope it will be implemented with strict adherence to the Act’s content.

    There is no disputing the fact that the aftermath of the Biafran War severely set back the Southeast by decades. This much was alluded to by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, who spearheaded this discussion alongside other Southeast lawmakers.

    The Southeast, despite its wealth in natural resources, has faced prolonged underdevelopment and degradation such that it is struggling to catch up with other parts of the country. There is renewed hope for meaningful progress with the establishment of this commission.

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    This commission’s efforts must be directed towards sustainable development projects in key areas- healthcare, agriculture, infrastructural development, and ecological and environmental challenges.

    This commission must avoid the pitfalls of corruption and inefficiency that have plagued other similar entities, such as the NDDC and OMPADEC of the Babangida era. The NDDC, in particular, has become synonymous with monumental corruption, leaving the Niger Delta in a state of severe underdevelopment, fostering militancy, youth restiveness, et al.

    By learning from past mistakes and focusing on genuine development, this commission has the potential to transform Ala Igbo. This commission must not become another instance of “food for the boys.” This commission must establish transparent processes, ensure accountability, and prioritize projects that directly benefit Ndi Igbo. If these goals are achieved, the Southeast can finally overcome its historical setbacks and move towards a brighter tomorrow.

    •Chiechefulam Ikebuiro,Chiechefulamikebuiro@gmail.com

  • Reconciliation, rehabilitation and re-integration: SEDC as a panacea

    Reconciliation, rehabilitation and re-integration: SEDC as a panacea

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was established in 2000 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, with the sole mandate to developing the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It was created as a quick response to end youth restiveness that degenerated into daily kidnapping and maiming of oil workers in the area which nearly crippled the economy of the country. Despite its creation, the minorities of the Niger Delta have continued to agitate and demand for greater autonomy and control of the area’s petroleum resources.

    The people of the Niger Delta justified their grievances by reference to the extensive environmental degradation and pollution from oil  activities that have occurred in the region since the late 1950s.

    Till date, through the NDDC, the Niger Delta region has witnessed developmental strides in infrastructure such as housing/renovations, road construction/rehabilitation, building of hospitals, university/schools and granting of scholarships to indigent students in the area, among other interventions.

    In the same vein, the establishment of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), in 2017, was primarily to coordinate the resettlement, rehabilitation, integration and reconstruction of infrastructures which was damaged as a result of insurgency (Boko Haram menace), as well as tackling the menace of poverty, illiteracy, ecological challenges in the North Eastern States and other related matter. So far, both NDDC and NEDC, are living up to the mandates to which they were established.

    However, the people of the South East region of Nigeria, appears to be in the huge disadvantage in all ramifications of life decades after the civil war which has left the entire region in ruin ever since. Regrettably, the 3Rs vision of reconciliation, rehabilitation and re-integration by the General Gowon regime aimed at addressing the plights of the region was without success. This is even as they have chosen to pursue their genuine demands ever since in a subtle disposition.

    Luckily, there seems to be a ray of hope with the passage of the South East Development Commission (SEDC) bill by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The South East Development Commission bill is not a new phenomenon in the National Assembly, but it has gained traction at the beginning of the 10th Assembly, due to the enigmatic and pragmatic leadership of Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker. The SEDC bill has since received the nod of the Green Chamber.

    The Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio and his colleagues have equally passed the bill and the next step will be to step up the Conference Committee to reconcile any differences.

    The rapid acceleration of the SEDC bill in this 10th Assembly, is indeed a cheering news. This same bill never saw the light of the day in both the 8th and 9th Assemblies and Kudos to the remarkable leadership of President Bola Tinubu, who has truly demonstrated the Renewed Hope agenda to the Southeast region.

    No doubt, the President will assent to the bill when presented to his office, considering the positive and meaningful impact of similar commissions in the Niger Delta and North East.

    Ndigbo are hopeful that the South East Development Commission will address the untold marginalization faced by her region since the end of the civil war.

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    Above all, the SEDC, when established, will definitely address infrastructural deficit in the area, provide quality education and advance our school infrastructure and its standard by offering teachers continuing education as well as providing scholarships to indigent students, skill acquisition, employment opportunity to the people, including the restive youths, provide quality health care and improve socio-economic activities.

    The people of the South East have suffered for so long and have been made to retrogress due to lack of commitment to their general well-being by successive government. But President Bola Tinubu’s name is about to be written in gold as the President who signed the SEDC bill into law when it finally lands on his table. Ndigbo will eternally remain grateful to him if this is achieved, bearing in mind that the vision of reconciliation, rehabilitation and re-integration have finally been realized after many years in abeyance. 

    Ukoha is former Minority Whip Abia State House of Assembly.