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From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The Senate of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has threatened to occupy the National and Zonal offices of the South East Development Commission (SEDC) in Abuja and Enugu over alleged inability to live up to expectations since its establishment by the Federal Government.
Senate President of NANS, Ibeabuchi Onyia, issued the threat, yesterday, in a statement in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
He accused the commission of defeating the very purpose for which it was created by the federal government and demanded the immediate removal of the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the commission.
Onyia said the students will relocate the National Headquarters of NANS to the Abuja and Enugu offices of the SEDC and remain there in a peaceful, lawful, and sustained protest until their demands and that of the entire people of South East are met.
“The commission was established in July 2024 to answer decades of post-war neglect in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states. It was meant to rebuild broken infrastructure and revive a region that has waited over half a century for deliberate federal attention.
“SEDC has failed to live up to expectations and, now, defeats the purpose of its creation. An institution meant to end the South East’s marginalisation has become another reason for its people to lose hope.
“When President Tinubu nominated Mr. Mark Okoye, a 35-year-old and supposed policy expert, as the pioneer MD/CEO of the SEDC, the student community and young people across the South East and the country welcomed it with overwhelming joy.
“His appointment aligned with the vision of NANS to place young people in strategic positions within the governance ecosystem. It fed a hopeful belief that a young, educated, and capable Nigerian, given a national assignment, would show that youthful leadership can deliver where older hands had failed.
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“On the strength of that hope, Mr. Okoye enjoyed the full backing of the student community and of young people, whose goodwill, prayers, and public defence he never lacked. He was given every benefit of the doubt, the support of a generation, and the space to prove himself.
He has failed that trust. He has betrayed the optimism of millions of young Nigerians who believed in him, and he has handed critics of youth leadership the very evidence they were waiting for.
“A young man, who was meant to break the cycle of failure, has, instead, deepened the people’s cynicism. That is the greatest damage of his tenure, and the Senate of NANS will not stand by while it is done in the name of the youth.
“More than two years after its creation, and well over a year after its board was inaugurated, the people of the South East cannot point to a single project that has changed their lives. Our students, traders, artisans, farmers, and young professionals have seen no road rebuilt, no erosion crisis tackled, and no jobs created.
“The claim that the commission “was not created for quick wins” insults a region that has waited more than 50 years. Nobody asked for miracles. The people asked for visible, honest, and accountable progress, and they have not seen it.
“The Senate of NANS holds President Tinubu in high regard for signing the SEDC Act into law. That legacy is now at risk. The President owes it to the South East, and to history, to put competent, accessible, and accountable leadership in place.
“Nigerian students are the future of the South East and of Nigeria, and we will not stay silent while that future is squandered.
“The Senate of NANS, hereby, issues a 21-day ultimatum to the Presidency, effective from the date of this release. If there are no consequential changes within that period, NANS will not hesitate to mobilise its structures in all zones, states, and campuses across the country. We will relocate the National Headquarters of NANS to the Abuja and Enugu offices of the SEDC, and stay there in a peaceful, lawful, and sustained protest until the demands of Nigerian students and the people of the South East are met.
Let no one mistake our patience for weakness. The students of Nigeria have spoken, and it is now for the President to act”, he stated.
