Chief Chekwas Okorie, founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has called on the Senate Committee overseeing the South East Development Commission to allow the Commission’s management sufficient time and space to carry out its developmental mandate.
Speaking at a press conference in Enugu on Wednesday, Okorie described as premature the allegations recently levelled against the Commission’s leadership, insisting that it was “too early” to begin making what he termed unfounded accusations.
His comments followed claims made last week by Orji Uzor Kalu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on SEDC, who accused the Commission’s management under Managing Director Mark Okoye of engaging in wasteful expenditure.
Among the allegations were claims that the Commission spent N153 million to rent what was described as a one-room office in Abuja and awarded contracts considered unnecessary to consultants.
Reacting, Okorie said the Committee’s public approach to oversight amounted to an unnecessary spectacle. According to him, his independent findings showed that the office in question was not a single room but a furnished and fully equipped office complex located in Maitama, Abuja.
He also defended the engagement of consultants by the Commission, arguing that feasibility studies and expert assessments are essential groundwork for attracting investors and financial institutions to support development efforts across the Southeast.
Okorie maintained that the Committee appeared too eager to discredit the Commission and failed to carry out adequate verification before making public allegations.
Drawing comparisons with past challenges experienced by the Niger Delta Development Commission, he urged political actors to support rather than distract the SEDC, stressing that the people of the Southeast have long awaited meaningful regional intervention.
He further commended the Commission’s leadership for initiating collaboration with Southeast governors and for presenting what he described as a clear development blueprint that received presidential approval.
Okorie praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for establishing the SEDC, saying the Commission was created to address longstanding infrastructural deficits and post-war developmental gaps in the Southeast.
He noted that despite an allocation of N140 billion in the 2025 budget cycle, the Commission reportedly received no funding, adding that only N16 billion had so far been released from the N150 billion appropriated for 2026.
While reaffirming his support for accountability and transparency in public spending, Okorie argued that subjecting the Commission to intense scrutiny barely six months into accessing a fraction of its allocation was excessive.
