When President Bola Tinubu presented his 2024 budget to Nigeria’s National Assembly, he highlighted human asset development, poverty reduction, and fighting insecurity as top priorities. Yet, in early February, his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, claimed that 133 million multi-dimensionally poor Nigerians were the responsibility of states and local governments, not the federal government.
That same day, 450 kilometers away, Vice-President Kashim Shettima directly contradicted Onanuga. At the launch of the South-East Development Commission’s (SEDC) regional plan, South-East Vision 2050 (SEV2050), Shettima reaffirmed the federal government’s role in eradicating poverty, stressing it must be “inclusive, sustainable, and anchored on peace and productivity.”
The Enugu event marked the SEDC’s formal debut. It is one of seven regional development commissions under Tinubu’s Ministry of Regional Development, each serving a geo-political zone, alongside the older, wealthier Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
SEV2050 was a strategic bid for political support. The SEDC secured public backing from all five south-east governors—a stark contrast to the north-west commission’s event earlier this year, which no governor attended. The SEDC Act of 2024 charges it with managing funds from the Federation Account for post-Civil War reconstruction—a unique mission among regional commissions.
Anambra Governor Chukwuma Soludo framed the region’s recovery as stemming from “two major wars”: the 1967-1970 Nigeria-Biafra conflict and an “internal war of self-destruction since 2021.” He noted that unfulfilled post-war promises made the second war nearly inevitable. The SEV2050 consultation couldn’t escape this backdrop, emphasizing that reconstruction must go beyond bricks and mortar to rebuild minds and mentalities.
Shettima acknowledged the region is “defined not only by memory, but by motion,” yet stopped short of confirming that motion leads to progress. The SEDC’s challenge is to transform motion into tangible regional progress, over half a century after the conflict.
The Enugu event showcased constructive competition among south-east states, but also three daunting challenges. First, a crisis of mismatched expectations: Soludo urged realism yet demanded a “Marshall Plan” for the region, including a security framework and super inter-state infrastructure. But an SEDC leading on security risks antagonizing governors, and pursuing infrastructure alone is a fool’s errand. The commission received only ₦16 billion in its first 16 months, with no capital funds.
Second, the SEDC lacks a viable business model. Tinubu didn’t articulate a clear mission for the commissions, leaving them to navigate Nigeria’s bureaucratic maze. Citizens crave instant help, while political elites see a new patronage vehicle, modeled after the NDDC. The NDDC’s track record is grim: by 2022, 12,000 of 13,377 projects were abandoned after trillions of naira were spent. Replicating this would be fatal for the SEDC; avoiding it invites blackmail from politicians under the guise of oversight.
Third, the SEDC faces pushback from political greed. The Enugu event had Vice-President Shettima, all south-east governors, and the House Majority Leader. But notably absent were Senate SEDC Committee Chairman Orji Uzor Kalu, House counterpart Chris Nkwonta, and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu. Kalu sent his daughter, who holds no public office. This near collective absence of the National Assembly caucus was no coincidence.
The SEV2050 event was a success in convening support, but the SEDC will have no shortage of adversaries. Post-war reconstruction is existential, and the commission lacks resources for the errors that plagued the NDDC. If it can focus its mission and shield itself from political extortion, it may build a durable foundation for its historic task.
