The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has lauded President Bola Tinubu for giving assent to the South-East Development Commission.

The Publicity Secretary of the group, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, made the commendation in a statement issued in Enugu on Wednesday.

Mr Ogbonnia stated that the group received the news of the President’s assent to the bill with immense relief and joy.

He said, “This is a quantum leap, a hope renewal and a significant part of a new beginning by President Tinubu.’’

According to him, the President General of the apex-Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, was highly elated and sent a warm gratitude to the President for the development.

Mr Ogbonnia also commended the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, and the “co-sponsors of the all-important bill.”

He recalled that during a courtesy visit to the National Assembly by the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the exceptional quality of Mr Kalu did not go unnoticed.

He added, “His suave, assertive, sagacious and visionary dispositions were very inspiring and a veritable source of hope. More importantly, he commands the respect and confidence of most members of the House of Representatives. It needs a mention that the SEDC, which has remained in the pipeline for decades, has come on stream through Kalu and his team.’’

He further stated that the commission was expected to manage funds allocated from the Federation Account for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads and other infrastructural deficits suffered by the region due to age-long neglect.

He explained that the commission would also tackle ecological problems and related environmental challenges that had devastated the South-East for decades.

He noted, “The SEDC will go a long way to assuage the feelings of the Igbo with respect to the 3R sophistry by General Yakubu Gowon in January 1970. Gowon had assured the world that there would be three “R”: Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Igboland as a result of war ravages. But 54 years after the war, the South-East has witnessed the direct opposite of the 3R, even in exponential proportion. South-East has the least number of Local Government Areas, the least number of states, the least in political appointments, the least members in the House of Representatives, the least in the Senate and, of course, the worst in infrastructure.”  

Mr Ogbonnia, “With the structures, the Federal Government enlarged the coast of other geopolitical zones, leaving the South-East in the cold. No one should, therefore, look elsewhere in the search for the persistent youth restiveness and secessionist agitations in the region. Furthermore, the South-East governors, led by the governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, will leverage the opportunity created by the commission to anchor programmes that will fully harness and promote industrial, agricultural and tourism in the region.’’

Others are energy, commercial and investment potential in the zone including helping to create the much desired centrally coordinated security architecture in the zone and more. (NAN)