The Senate has urged nominees of the Governing Board of South East Development Commission (SEDC) not to betray the hope entrusted in them by President Bola Tinubu and Nigerians.
The lawmakers gave the charge during the Ad-Hoc Committee screening on regional development Commissions chaired by Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, yesterday.
The18-member nominee of SEDC was led by Dr. Emeka Wogu (chairman) and Mark C Okoye (MD/CEO).
Others are Ugochukwu H. Agballah, Okey Ezenwa, Chief Hyacinth Ikpor, Chidi Echeazu, Ifeanyi Agwu, Nasiru Usman, Hamma Adama, Ali Kumo, Edward David Onoja, Orure Kufre Inima, Daniel Akwari, Mrs. Joke Adebayo-Chukwuma, Stanley Ohajuruka (ED Finance), Chief Sylvester Okonkwo (ED Corporate Services), Toby Okechukwu (ED Projects ), Anthony Agbo (ED Commercial and Industrial Development) and Dr. Clifford Ogbede (ED Natural Resources, Agriculture and Rural Development).
Shortly after the brief introduction by the nominees of the SEDC, Chairman of the committee, Kalu, re-echoed the warnings of his colleagues and told the nominees to prioritise the interest of the people.
“You are the face of this organisation and we don’t want anything that will bring the name of our president to disrepute. We will not tolerate anything that is against the interest of the people. The Senate committee will oversee you seriously.
“Don’t pay for a job that is not done. If you do, we won’t hesitate to report back to the President to sack you. Use the money for the development of the people. So far no member has objected to your clearance.
“Look at the trust these members have given to you, we want you to improve the relationship between you and the National Assembly. We are attending to you because of the budget process. If you don’t do it your Commissions will miss the budget process because the Senate will soon go on recess.”