Chekwas Okorie defends SEDC management, faults senate committee’s oversight approach

Chekwas Okorie, founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Ojeozi Ndigbo, has defended the management of the South East Development Commission (SEDC), describing recent allegations by the senate committee overseeing the commission as hasty and capable of creating misconceptions about its activities.

Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, Okorie said he was among those who welcomed the inauguration of the SEDC by President Bola Tinubu in February 2025, noting that the commission was created with a unique mandate to address the reconstruction and rehabilitation needs of the south-east region arising from the effects of the Nigerian civil war.

According to him, the establishment of the commission marked the first practical effort by a Nigerian president since the end of the civil war to implement the federal government’s post-war policy of reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation (3R).

“When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated the Southeast Development Commission in February 2025, I was ecstatic,” Okorie said.

He recalled publicly commending Tinubu for the initiative and urging the federal government to provide adequate and regular funding for the commission to enable it achieve its objectives.

Okorie also praised the calibre of individuals appointed to the commission’s board and management team, saying he had appealed to politicians to allow the agency focus on its mandate and avoid the pitfalls that plagued the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the past.

He noted that the commission’s leadership had embarked on consultations with governors of the south-east shortly after inauguration and later unveiled a development blueprint and roadmap that received presidential approval.

However, Okorie said concerns began to emerge when months passed without visible activities from the commission.

According to him, inquiries revealed that nearly one year after its inauguration, the SEDC had not received allocations from the federation account, fueling doubts about the federal government’s commitment to the initiative.

“Unfortunately, nothing again was heard or observed by the public about the activities of the commission,” he said.

“Upon inquiry after several months, I was reliably informed that nearly one year after the inauguration of the commission, no fund had been allocated to it from the Federation Account.”

He said the commission only became active earlier this year when funding began to arrive, citing reports that the Enugu State Government had donated an office complex to serve as its headquarters.

Okorie said the commission was expected to renovate and equip the facility while commencing recruitment of personnel required for full operations.

The APGA founder also weighed in on recent criticisms by the senate committee on SEDC, which questioned some expenditures by the commission, including the reported payment of N153 million for what lawmakers described as a one-room office apartment in Abuja.

The committee also raised concerns over contracts awarded for various studies and consultancy services, which it described as unnecessary and wasteful.

But Okorie said investigations he conducted showed that the Abuja facility was not a one-room apartment but a furnished and equipped office complex located in Maitama.

“I promptly made some calls and found that the so-called one-room office space was indeed a furnished and equipped office complex in Maitama, Abuja,” he said.

He added that consultancy studies were necessary if the commission intended to attract investors and secure funding from local and international financial institutions for development projects in the south-east.

Okorie said while accountability and transparency in the management of public funds remain essential, the senate committee’s handling of the matter appeared more like an inquisition than a routine oversight exercise.

“I am of the opinion that what the Senate Committee did to the management of the commission in less than six months of its receipt of about six percent of its 2025/2026 budgetary allocation appropriated by the National Assembly is in bad taste,” he said.

“The action of the committee is more of an inquisition and coercion than an oversight.”

He urged the committee to exercise greater diligence and discretion in future engagements with the commission.

Okorie also advised the board and management of the SEDC to remain conscious of the high expectations of people in the South-East and to strengthen public engagement.

He recommended the establishment of an effective and proactive public relations department to regularly communicate the commission’s activities and address public concerns.

According to him, improved communication would help prevent misunderstandings and build confidence in the commission’s efforts