Reps Approve S/East Development Commission’s 2026 Budget of N140bn

The House Committee on the South East Development Commission (SEDC) has approved the N140 billion budget proposal for 2026.

Representative Chris Nkwonta, the chairman of the committee, approved the budget proposal as a working document and commended Mr. Mark Okoye, the managing director of the commission, for a job well done.

Nkwonta called Okoye “a round peg in a round hole,” praising his economic goals and vision for the development of the South-East zone.

The managing director had earlier detailed the commission’s growth plans for the South-East zone.

Building railroads across the five states in the zone, he says, is one of the proposals that will boost trade and investment.”To make the South-East a preferred investment hub within the next ten years, we will use industrialization, agriculture, and technology,” he said.

To establish a cohesive economic bloc, Okoye said, the region’s economic policies had to be unified.

He commended President Bola Tinubu for approving South East Development Company Limited, which will enable the commission to purchase a $1 billion market portfolio over the course of the next ten years.

According to the managing director, underemployment is more common in the region and the commission is ready to handle it.