The House of Representatives Committee on South East Development Commission (SEDC) has approved the Commission’s proposed N140 billion 2026 budget proposal
The House of Representatives Committee on South East Development Commission (SEDC) has approved the Commission’s proposed N140 billion 2026 budget proposal.
The approval was given following the commission’s presentation during a budget defence session on Thursday.
The budget was presented to the committee by the Managing Director of the Commission, Mark Okoye, who outlined the rationale behind the financial projections and key development priorities for the south east region.
Explaining factors that shaped the commission’s budget structure, Okoye noted that guidance from the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning influenced the approach taken for the current fiscal year.
He added, “We’ve also seen the 2026 call circular as published by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Planning, which said to all of us, take your entire capital expenditure of last year and bring it to this year because of one or two issues. Of course, we are very well aware of what’s going on.
“There were a lot of debts, and what have you, that the government inherited. So last year was about assuring investor confidence, addressing, servicing the debt, such that now, this year, we believe and we are confident that we’ve made those provisions, we’ve moved our budget from last year and we’ve brought it into the current year. So that has influenced what we have in front of us.”
Okoye further informed the committee that the Commission has developed an ambitious development blueprint for the south east, including plans to construct railway lines linking the five states of the region to strengthen trade, investment, and economic integration.
“We have a vision to make the south east a preferred investment hub in the next ten years. And we will achieve this through industrialization, agriculture and technology,” he said.
He also explained that the commission intends to harmonise economic and development policies across the region, with funding expected to come from government, private sector investors, as well as development partners.
Highlighting key allocations in the proposed budget, Okoye said: “So to summarise, the Southeast Regional Intervention Projects and Programme, we have a provision of N10.5 billion.
“The Southeast Regional Economic and Industrial Development Programme, we have about N24.5 billion. The Southeast Zonal Allocation to States Project, N10.25 billion. What we want to do here is a matching grant.
“If we have this fund, the state governments can also say amongst themselves they have another N10 billion, there’s N20 billion for implementation of state-specific programmes.
“We have the Renewed Hope Housing and Market Development Programme. And as I’m going through these budget heads, I’ll be speaking to some of the work that some of our colleagues have done.”
Following the adoption of the proposal as a working document, the Chairman of the committee, Chris Nkwonta, commended the Managing Director and the Commission’s management team for what he described as a commendable start.
He said, “The south east region, as you remember, we know that we have been one year. And from what you have said, it is very, very clear that you are a round peg in a round hole. A round peg in a round hole.
“Anyone who listens to you, or who has listened to you, will agree that bringing you as a member of this commission was the right decision. From what we have heard so far, what we are doing is to lay the groundwork before taking off. All that we are doing is to prepare this commission. And I want to specially commend that.”
