The youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has called on the Senate to screen and confirm the board members of the South-East Development Commission (SEDC) as announced by President Bola Tinubu.
National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Okwu Nnabuike, in a statement made available to journalists on Thursday, said it was unfortunate that some Igbo elites would always oppose anything so far as it did not favour their selfish motives.
The youth organisation said the vast majority of Ndigbo were pleased with the list of the board members, urging the Senate to approve their nomination as quickly as possible.
Okwu, who said the nominated board members were eminent Igbo sons and daughters, described the criticisms trailing their nomination as an unnecessary distraction.
“We are alarmed over the recent criticisms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s appointment of board members of the South East Development Commission (SEDC).
“May we recall that the bill that saw to the establishment of that board was sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kanu.
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“There is no doubt that the Rep. Kalu is today, the highest-ranking Igbo person in government and in fact the number six man in government. Having established this, we find it most annoying that some people are taking his calm disposition for granted.
“Assuming without conceding that he influenced the list, our question is are the members of the board not eminent Igbo sons and daughters?
“Contrary to the claims of those criticising the list, we have also observed that the list cuts across the entire five South East states. Where then is the bias as alleged?
“It is obvious that those crying foul are merely doing so because their cronies were not appointed; they are not in any way projecting Igbo interest,” the statement said.
