Failed Mandate: Nothing to show for billions spent, South-East leaders slam SEDC
Several groups of the South-East extraction, have criticised the South-East Development Commission (SEDC) accusing it of incompetence, lack of vision, and failure to deliver meaningful development in the zone.
Despite reportedly receiving billions of naira in federal allocations, critics accuses the commission of failing to provide transparent accounts of its logistics and operational spending, while leaving no visible projects or measurable impact on the lives of people in the region.
*Igbo Community Association FCT rejects SEDC explanations
The Igbo Community Association FCT, has strongly dismissed the explanations offered by the Managing-Director of the SEDC, Mr. Mark Okoye, describing the commission as a body that has strayed completely from its founding purpose.
The association, which represents South Easterners living in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, accused the commission of operating more as a patronage vehicle, than a genuine development institution.
Speaking on behalf of the group, the President-General, Engr. Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe, expressed frustration over what he described as a total absence of direction and deliverables.
“We don’t even know what the plans of the SEDC are. There is no clear roadmap, no visible projects, nothing to show. It has simply become a means to settle the boys. We, the South Easterners, will not accept that,” Ezenekwe said.
His remarks resonates with the growing anger among South-East stakeholders, several of whom say the commission has failed to justify the confidence and resources entrusted to it.
*Igbo Renaissance Union delivers scathing verdict
The criticism intensified during the inaugural meeting of the Igbo Renaissance Union (IRU), where its President, Dr. Philip Ukonu, delivered a blistering assessment of the SEDC leadership.
Dr. Ukonu accused the commission of gross negligence and a clear inability to manage the sensitive regional mandate assigned to it.
He described the SEDC as a “jamboree agency”, arguing that its operations have fallen far below public expectations and that its continued existence in its current form amounts to a grave injustice to the South-East.
According to Ukonu, the failure of the commission was apparent from its inception.
He described the commission as a fraudulent arrangement masquerading as a development agency, accusing its leadership of “criminal negligence, moral bankruptcy, and a complete betrayal of the South-East mandate”.
*Allegations of waste amid abandoned projects
Dr. Ukonu also referenced growing reports across the region alleging that once billions of naira were released, the commission descended into what he described as “a full-scale jamboree”.
According to him, “public funds were allegedly squandered on luxury travels, high-profile conferences, and social indulgences, while critical infrastructure such as roads, schools, hospitals, and economic revitalisation projects were left unattended to”.
He warned that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, now carries direct moral and political responsibility to intervene decisively.
Ukonu stressed that failure to immediately dismantle and reconstitute the SEDC would amount to endorsing waste, patronage, and the continued marginalisation of the South East.
