APGA NATIONAL CHAIRMAN RALLIES SUPPORT FOR SEDC, CITES GLOBAL PRECEDENTS FOR INSTITUTION-BUILDING
Abuja, Nigeria — The National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Barr. Ezeokenwa Jr Sly (Ezenwata Umuchu), has reaffirmed strong support for Mr. Mark Okoye II MD/CEO of the South East Development Commission (SEDC), stating that the Commission’s 2026 budget must be properly understood within the broader statutory and strategic framework established under the South East Development Commission Act of 2024
Barr. Ezeokenwa stated that the SEDC was created not as a project-distribution agency but as a regional reconstruction and economic transformation authority charged with rebuilding and repositioning the South East for long-term competitiveness.
He emphasized that the Commission has articulated a bold but structured ambition: to transform the South East into a $200 billion regional economy within ten years, targeting the 2035–2036 horizon. This transformation agenda, he explained, is anchored on infrastructure development, industrialization, private sector-led growth, venture capital attraction, regional integration, and positioning the South East as Africa’s preferred investment destination.
Central to this strategy is the proposed South East Investment Corporation (SEIC), envisioned as a catalytic investment vehicle with ambitions toward a N150 billion capital mobilization framework and a structured balance sheet target of $1 billion within eight years through the Southeast Investment Conference platform.
According to the APGA National Chairman, critics who focus narrowly on isolated budget line items fail to see how those allocations function as catalysts toward achieving this $200 billion economic vision.
He cited global precedents such as the Tennessee Valley Authority in the United States, which began with comprehensive regional planning before transforming its economic geography; the North East Development Commission, which structured recovery frameworks before large-scale rebuilding; and the Singapore Economic Development Board, which prioritized investment promotion, institutional architecture, and industrial master planning before Singapore’s visible industrial expansion.
The APGA National Chairman also referenced the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), which began not with factories but with industrial master plans, investor roadshows, legal frameworks, and global investment promotion strategies. Singapore’s rise from a resource-poor state to a global economic powerhouse, he noted, was built on careful institutional architecture before physical expansion. Similarly, he pointed to the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, which invested first in regulatory systems, global branding, and investor engagement before its now-iconic skyline materialized. “No serious economic hub begins with concrete alone; it begins with credibility,” he stated.
Barr. Ezeokenwa explained that specific budget components under scrutiny are, in fact, foundational enablers of the Commission’s transformation blueprint.
Technical feasibility studies, master planning, and business case development are necessary to create bankable infrastructure pipelines capable of attracting multilateral finance and private capital. Without these preparatory instruments, the South East cannot credibly pursue large-scale industrial corridors, rail connectivity, power integration, or manufacturing clusters.
Innovation hubs, training, incubation programs, and capacity building are strategic investments in the region’s entrepreneurial strength. If the South East is to attract venture capital and drive private sector-led growth, it must deliberately cultivate innovation ecosystems capable of producing scalable enterprises.
Investor roadshows, diaspora engagement, media campaigns, branding, and stakeholder engagements are not ceremonial expenditures but instruments of capital mobilization. No region becomes a preferred investment destination by silence. Global capital responds to visibility, credibility, and structured engagement platforms. The Southeast Investment Conference framework is designed precisely to convert visibility into structured financial inflows.
The proposed South East Investment Corporation (SEIC) requires financial advisory services, fund structuring, and legal architecture to build a credible capital base. These expenditures are not optional luxuries; they are prerequisites for mobilizing the scale of investment required to grow a $200 billion regional economy.
“A $200 billion economy is not built by distributing projects ward by ward. It is built through strategic capital mobilization, institutional discipline, and coordinated regional integration,” he stated.
He stressed that rebuilding under the Act means structured reconstruction, not scattered intervention. “A rebuilding commission must first design what it intends to rebuild. Infrastructure without architecture produces abandonment. Capital without structure produces waste.”
He reiterated that no region can attract large-scale capital without investor confidence, no investor commits funds without credible studies, and no development agenda thrives in an atmosphere of insecurity.
“The Southeast cannot afford to sabotage a commission that is laying the foundation for rail corridors, industrial clusters, energy integration, and coordinated regional growth simply because the groundwork is less visible than ribbon-cutting ceremonies,” Barr. Ezeokenwa said. He reminded stakeholders that institution-building typically requires a structured maturation phase and that history consistently vindicates patient strategy over political theatrics.
The APGA National Chairman called on Ndi Igbo, corporate bodies, financial institutions, youth leaders, and the diaspora to support Dr. Mark Okoye in consolidating the institutional foundations necessary to deliver generational prosperity.
“The South East now stands at a strategic turning point, where it must choose between short-term optics and long-term transformation. The SEDC has chosen structure, strategy, and scale. Ndi Igbo must rally behind that choice,” Barr. Ezeokenwa concluded.
Signed:
Dr. Tony Olisa Mbeki Ogbonna
Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the National Chairman
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
28th February, 2026
Dear Readers, Good and credible news reportage is tedious task and requires huge finances.
We are soliciting your Noble support for as low as N1,000 your support would go a long way in assisting us to continue to guarantee our readers quality news.
Bank transfers can be made to:
Account Name: Harvest and Commercial
Bank: Sterling Bank
Account Number: 0078627735