The Senate of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately remove Mark Okoye as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the South East Development Commission (SEDC), citing alleged incompetence, financial impropriety and abuse of office.
In a statement signed by its President, Senator Ibeabuchi Moses Onyia, the student body said the Commission had “defeated the very purpose for which it was created.” It also issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Presidency.
Ultimatum and threatened protest
NANS said that if no “consequential changes” occur within 21 days of the statement’s release, it will mobilise its structures across all zones, states and campuses. The group said it would relocate its National Headquarters to the SEDC’s Abuja and Enugu offices and stay there in what it described as a peaceful, lawful and sustained protest.
“Let no one mistake our patience for weakness,” the statement said.
Background
The SEDC was established in July 2024 to address decades of post-war neglect in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States, with a mandate to rebuild infrastructure and revive the region’s economy.
NANS said it had initially welcomed the appointment of Okoye, 35, as the pioneer MD/CEO, describing it as aligned with its vision of placing young people in strategic governance positions. The student body said Okoye enjoyed the “full backing” of students and young people, but has since “betrayed the optimism of millions of young Nigerians.”
Allegations
More than two years after the Commission’s creation, and over a year after its board was inaugurated, NANS said South East residents “cannot point to a single project that has changed their lives,” citing no road rebuilt, no erosion crisis tackled and no jobs created.
The group also pointed to allegations of financial impropriety. In June 2026, the Senate Committee on the SEDC questioned Okoye over the suspected mismanagement of the N16.6 billion the Commission received from its 2025 budget. Lawmakers queried a reported N153 million spent on renting a one-room liaison office in Abuja, as well as N2.5 billion classified as implied expenditure.
According to the statement, Okoye could not provide a detailed breakdown of the spending at the hearing and was directed to return with full documentation. The committee chairman said the Auditor-General had been asked to audit the Commission’s spending. Civil society and professional groups in the South East have since demanded a full public account of the funds.
Six grievances
NANS listed six issues it found unacceptable:
- Corruption allegations and alleged abuse of office
- Gross incompetence and lack of visible achievement, with the group saying “the people cannot eat ‘Vision 2050′”
- A disconnect from the people, with the SEDC allegedly run from boardrooms and conference halls
- Inexperience for a task of this magnitude
- No working relationship with traditional institutions, socio-cultural groups, civil society, professionals and youth
- No consequential benefit to the people
The group also rejected the claim that the Commission “was not created for quick wins,” saying the region has waited over fifty years and that people were asking for “visible, honest and accountable progress,” not miracles.
Demands to the President
NANS called on President Tinubu to:
- Remove Okoye immediately as MD/CEO
- Direct anti-corruption agencies to investigate the Commission’s finances and hold anyone found culpable to account
- Publish the outcome of the audit of the Commission’s spending since inception
- Appoint a credible, experienced and grassroots-oriented replacement with a clear mandate and measurable deliverables
The students said they hold Tinubu in high regard for signing the SEDC Act into law, but warned that this legacy is now “at risk.”
The allegations against Mr. Okoye are those made by NANS and by members of the Senate committee; no findings of wrongdoing have been announced. Efforts to obtain a response from the SEDC were not reflected in the statement.
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