A civil society group, League of Igbo Youth Lawyers, has hailed the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, for his efforts, which gave birth to the passage of the bill for the establishment of the South East Development Commission, and its assent by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last Wednesday.
In a communique issued in Awka, the Anambra State capital on Tuesday and signed by its National Secretary, Obinnaya Asiegbu, the group noted that the SEDC, which bill was sponsored by Kalu, who represents Bende federal constituency in the House of Representatives was a landmark achievement for which the lawmaker has distinguished himself in the service of Ndi Igbo.
The communique observed that the Igbo homeland had been abandoned in the aftermath of the civil war, leading to neglect and absence of infrastructure and development in the region.
Also, the President of the group, Stanley Okafor, assured that the group would seek greater collaboration with the South-East caucus of the National Assembly as a means of making concrete and realistic developmental matters affecting the region.
Okafor, however, distanced the group and its members from the planned nationwide protests slated for August 1, arguing that Igbo youths had nothing to protest about this time, given the lack of proper integration of Igbos within the national socio-political framework.
He said, “We would work to distance Igbo youths from the planned protests for us to avoid the usual scapegoat retribution usually meted out against our people.
“Let our sister regions lead the self-expressions if they may, while we focus on persuading the government to do the right thing, and to grant freedom to detained Nnamdi Kanu.”
