The South East Development Commission (SEDC) has come under blistering criticism over what stakeholders describe as gross incompetence, lack of vision, and total failure to deliver meaningful development for the South East region.
Despite receiving enormous financial backing running into billions of naira from the Federal Government, the commission has failed to transparently account for its logistics support or demonstrate any tangible impact on the lives of South Easterners. This has raised serious concerns that public funds meant for regional development may have been diverted to serve the selfish interests of a few individuals.
Reacting strongly to the commission’s slow pace and lack of direction, the Igbo Community Association FCT has outrightly rejected the explanations offered by the Managing Director of the SEDC, Mr. Mark Okoye, describing the agency as a “glaring failure” that has lost sight of its core mandate.
The association, which represents South Easterners in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, accused the commission of functioning more as a patronage platform than a development agency.
Speaking on the matter, Engr. Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe, President General of the Igbo Community Association FCT, expressed deep disappointment with the commission’s performance.
“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 stated.
The growing outrage has further intensified pressure on the commission to either wake up to its responsibilities or make way for more capable hands.
In a similar vein, during the inaugural meeting of the Igbo Renaissance Union (IRU), its President, Dr. Philip Ukonu, delivered a scathing verdict on the SEDC leadership, accusing them of utter negligence of duty and a deliberate display of incapacity to handle the sensitive regional assignment entrusted to them.
Dr. Ukonu described the commission as a “jamboree agency” that has failed to match expectations with action, noting that its continued existence in its present form amounts to an injustice to the people of the South East.
Speaking further, Dr. Ukonu declared that the collapse of the South East Development Commission was engineered from inception, insisting that its inaugural meeting exposed a body deliberately stuffed with political loyalists, incompatible interests, and individuals appointed to share spoils rather than deliver development.
He described the commission as a fraudulent arrangement masquerading as a development institution, accusing its leadership of criminal negligence, moral bankruptcy, and total betrayal of the South East mandate.
Ukonu further pointed to rising reports across the South East alleging that the moment billions of naira were released, the commission slid into a full-blown jamboree, with public funds allegedly burned on luxury travels, high-end conferences, and social excesses, while roads, schools, hospitals, and economic revival projects remained abandoned.
He warned that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, now bears direct moral and political responsibility to act decisively, stressing that failure to dismantle and reconstitute the SEDC immediately would amount to endorsing waste, patronage, and the continued marginalisation of the South East. According to him, anything short of a total overhaul would permanently damage public trust and reduce the commission to a national symbol of elite deception and regional sabotage.
According to him, only a complete overhaul will enable the commission to function effectively and deliver dividends comparable to what the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has provided for its constituent states.
“The South East deserves real development, not excuses, incompetence, or political settlements,” Ukonu stressed.
As public scrutiny deepens, the SEDC now faces a defining moment; either to justify its existence through visible action or risk total rejection by the very people it was created to serve.
