The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, the premier Igbo socio-cultural organisation, has praised President Bola Tinubu for signing the South East Development Commission Bill, saying it will play a crucial role in addressing the lingering effects of the war, particularly in the reconciliation, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of Igbo land.
The body also hailed the development as a significant departure from the previous administration’s stance towards the Igbo people.
Also, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Benjamin Kalu, said the South-East Development Commission would tackle ecological problems and other related environmental or developmental challenges in the South-East states.
President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday evening, signed the South East Development Commission Bill into law, shortly after he signed the North West Development Commission Bill.
The bills, according to a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, “are to accelerate development across geopolitical zones in the country.”
The statement read: “The North-West Development Commission is set up to facilitate the reconstruction of roads, houses, and business premises destroyed by multidimensional crises, as well as tackle poverty, literacy level, ecological problems, and any other related environmental or development challenges in North-West states.
“In addition, the South-East Development Commission is established to ensure the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses, and other infrastructural damages suffered by the zone, as well as tackle ecological problems, and other related environmental or developmental challenges in South-East states.”
Tinubu said he believed in building the nation on the fulcrum of fairness, equity, and unity hence his commitment to ensuring equitable development, inclusive governance, and the provision of qualitative services to all Nigerians, no matter where they resided, while knitting more tightly together the national fabric.
The South-East Development Commission bill was sponsored by Kalu, with the support of other members of the House from the South-East region.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, expressed immense relief and joy upon receiving news of the signing of the bill.
The organisation noted that the SEDC, which will cover Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states, marked a significant milestone in Tinubu’s administration, representing a quantum leap, renewed hope and a new beginning for the Igbo people.
“Ohanaeze seizes this opportunity to commend the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Benjamin Kalu and the co-sponsors of the all-important Bill. During a courtesy call to the National Assembly by the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the exceptional quality of Kalu did not go unnoticed.
“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 to be mentioned that the SEDC, which has remained in the pipeline for decades, has come on stream through Kalu and his team.
“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 Rs: Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of the Igbo land as a result of war ravages, but 54 years after the war, the South East has witnessed the direct opposite of the 3Rs, even in exponential proportion,” the statement noted.
The apex Igbo body said with the establishment of the commission, the South East governors would leverage the opportunity to anchor programmes that would harness and promote the “industrial, agricultural, tourism, energy, commercial and investment potentials in the zone.”
Ohanaeze also noted that the commission would also help to create the much-desired centrally coordinated security architecture in the zone and more.
“A few days ago, the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, at Abakaliki, announced plans by the Federal Government to construct a 477-kilometre six-lane superhighway, traversing five states to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
“According to the minister, the superhighway will, among others, pass through Abakaliki, Enugu, Nsukka, leading to Abuja.
“The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, is highly elated and sends a warm gratitude to Mr President over these developments.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo has maintained that the cause of backpedalling by Nigeria is Igbophobia, a pathological fear of the Igbo in a country they have sacrificed so much to uphold.
“As it stands, President Bola Tinubu has shown a major departure from the Buhari regime by signing the SEDC Bill into Law; appointing Sen. David Umahi, a brilliant and prudent engineer as the federal Minister for Works, and Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla as the Chief of the Naval Staff,” the statement added.
Kalu, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, expressed gratitude to the President for signing the bill into law and approving the creation of the commission.
While thanking his colleagues in the National Assembly and, indeed, all Nigerians for supporting the bill, he conveyed the appreciation to all Ndigbo from the South East region, assuring them of more positive attention from the President.
Also, Kalu’s Special Adviser on Inter-Governmental Affairs, Hon Chijioke Chukwu, said with the new commission, agitations would be curbed in the South-East.
Chukwu, who is the Convener, Concerned Abia APC Stakeholders and former Minority Leader in the Abia State House of Assembly, while expressing his gratitude to Tinubu for the speedy action on the bill, said, “The war is over. Nigeria is now fair to us.”
He said the new commission would not only help in dousing tensions in the South-East but would also stop the agitations in the zone.
“I call on Ndigbo to see it as a welcome development. I am calling on all those agitating for one thing or the other to sheath their swords. I am also calling on unknown gunmen to see this as an opportunity to embrace moral solutions, not just for Ndigbo, but Nigeria in general.
“The passage of this bill is the beginning of good things to come to Ndigbo.” He said.
He lauded Kalu for not only sponsoring the bill but remaining vigilant against all oppositions and challenges against it.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Wing commended Tinubu for signing the bill, adding that the move had ended the age-long civil war in the South-East.
The acting National Youth Leader, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu, in a statement on Wednesday, expressed confidence that the commission would not only heal the region but further add value to the collective efforts to restore peace and stability in Nigeria and South-East in particular.
He said the Biafra agitation resurfaced following the Federal Government’s failure to honour the three “Rs” treaty.
“We commend President Tinubu for the boldness and patriotic act of signing the South-East Development Commission Bill.
“We must commend all stakeholders who played critical roles in ensuring this long overdue milestone achievement became a reality.
“We thank particularly, the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Dr Benjamin Kalu and his colleagues, South-East governors, led by Senator Hope Uzodimma, and the National Assembly.
“By granting assent to this commission, Tinubu has finally ended the age-long civil war in the South-East,” he said.
It expressed the hope that the commission would attend to the three Rs and add value to the collective efforts to restore peace and stability in Nigeria and the South-East in particular.
The group also reaffirmed its support to the Tinubu administration in the country.
