SEDC: Don’t disappoint South East, Onuigbo advises board members

From Okwe Obi, Abuja

Chairman of the Security, Climate Change, and Special Interventions Committee on the Governing Board of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), Samuel Onuigbo, has advised the board members of the South East Development Commission (SEDC) not to disappoint the region.

In addition to encouraging Ndigbo in the diaspora to support the commission in driving development, Onuigbo, in a statement yesterday, lauded President Bola Tinubu for establishing the regional commissions and inaugurating the governing boards.

He also warned the board members to eschew all forms of criminality and unnecessary petitions that could distract the Federal Government.

He said: “I wish to heartily congratulate all nominees that went through successful screening and confirmation by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and were subsequently inaugurated by His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu GCFR, Commander-in-Chief, Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, through Engr. Abubakar Momoh, Minister of Regional Development. In praising the management of these two august bodies, the North West Development Commission (NWDC) and South East Development Commission (SEDC), I urge them to brace themselves because there is much to do as they prepare to commence work.

“I wish to particularly encourage the Chairman, Alhaji Lawal Samai’la Abdullahi, and the Managing Director, Prof. Abdullahi Shehu Ma’aji of the NWDC Governing Board, as well as their SEDC counterparts, Hon. Emeka Wogu PhD and Hon. Mark Okoye, Chairman and Managing Director, respectively, for their membership of these life-changing interventionist agencies.

“At this juncture, let me remind these noble officers that your nomination, screening, confirmation, and subsequent inauguration is a huge task that places massive responsibility on your shoulders.

“For the SEDC board members, you are coming to do impactful work that will truly trigger the final and genuine efforts to erase the lingering scars of the civil war, which ended well over half a century ago. Please, I urge you not to fail the president and the people of the South-East.

“Similarly, I appeal to our leaders, stakeholders, and Ndigbo in the diaspora to support the Governing Board to succeed.

“Let me at this juncture commend the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu CON, for sponsoring the all-important establishment bill alongside his colleagues, and for seeing it through all the complex processes with the attendant hurdles involved in getting such a great bill to receive Presidential assent.

“Finally, let me also reiterate my appreciation to President Bola Tinubu GCFR for making this possible after decades of neglect. My humble prayer is that may God continue to bless the President, Ndigbo, and Nigerians at large.”