Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has assured that the South East Development Commission (SEDC) will soon receive its allocated funds to kickstart transformative projects.
The announcement, made during a live appearance on Channels Television's Politics Today on Thursday, comes nearly a year after the commission's establishment, highlighting persistent delays in funding amid high expectations for post-civil war reconciliation and economic revival.
Kalu, who represents Bende Federal Constituency in Abia State and spearheaded the SEDC Bill as Majority Leader, emphasized that while the funds have been appropriated in the national budget, bureaucratic hurdles have slowed disbursement.
"The fund is going to come when others are coming, and in a few days, a few weeks, the agency will have funds to begin to activate the dreams of the region," he stated, highlighting the commission's role in addressing historical grievances from the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War.
The SEDC was birthed from bipartisan legislation passed by the National Assembly in 2023 and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in July 2024, fulfilling a long-standing agitation for equity in the region often dubbed the "marginalized South-East."
Modeled after similar bodies like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the SEDC is tasked with spearheading reconstruction, rehabilitation, reintegration, and reconciliation—core pledges to heal the scars of the civil war.
Its mandate spans critical sectors including agriculture, power supply, infrastructure, industrial development, technology, commerce, and tackling insecurity through economic empowerment initiatives.
"You know, South East passed through civil war. Even though the history books are no longer talking much about it, which is not right because we have to learn from history for it not to repeat itself," Kalu remarked, drawing parallels to the need for sustained investment to prevent recurring regional discontent.
The commission's pioneer board, appointed by Tinubu in December 2024, has been in place for months but hampered by the funding shortfall, stalling flagship programs aimed at youth employment and infrastructure upgrades in a zone grappling with high unemployment and erosion of industrial hubs like Aba and Onitsha.
Complementing the SEDC, President Tinubu recently approved the South East Investment Company (SEIC), a public-private partnership designed to attract diaspora remittances and equity investments for rebuilding efforts.
Kalu hailed this as a "game-changer," noting it would inject fresh capital into SMEs and agro-processing, sectors vital to the Igbo-dominated region's economy.
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