The Anambra State Chapter of the All Progressive Congress, APC, has called on President Bola Tinubu to, as a matter of urgency, withdraw the appointment of Hon. Mark Okoye as the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer MD/CEO, of the South East Development Commission SEDC.
The Source reports that the President had, last week, named former Labour and Productivity Minister, Chief Emeka Wogu, from Abia State, as the Chairman of the SEDC and, Okoye, from Anambra State, as the MD/CEO.
President Tinubu also named other Executive Directors for the nascent South East intervention Agency.
The appointees are currently waiting to be screened and possibly cleared by the Senate .
But before then, the Anambra APC, in a letter addressed to the President and copied the Senate, dated Thursday December 12, 2024, expressed strong reservations over the appointment of Okoye.
In the letter signed by Hon. Basil Ejidike and Engr Chidi Oji State Chairman and Secretary, respectively, the APC alleged that Okoye is a well known card-carrying member of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA ,and, as such, can not hold such a sensitive office as the Managing Director of SEDC.
The Party, also faulted the nominations and appointments pattern to the Board, insisting that they seriously violated the provisions of the Act establishing the Commission.
According to the APC, the glaring exclusion of Ebonyi and Imo states from the membership of the Board of the Commission, clearly violates the provision that demands that all the component states from the region be accommodated.
Similarly, the party described the appointment of Hon Okoye as the MD/CEO ,as a serious injury to both the leadership and members of the APC family in Anambra state.
It noted that Okoye, as a full fledged member of APGA , can not and will not be assumed to be representing the interests of the APC and its members.
To buttress its position, the Anambra APC ,informed that presently ,Hon.Okoye ,is the Managing Director of Anambra State Investment ,Promotion and Protection Agency ANSIPPA ,a position given to him by Governor Charles Soludo APGA led administration in the state.
” Sir ,we in Anambra state APC were aghast on receiving the news of the composition of the membership of the SEDC Board.
Permit us to use this medium to point out our observations with the above appointments.
From the membership of the Board ,it was observed that the nominations of members did not follow the provisions of the Act establishing the Commission ,which posit that Board memberships be drawn from the five South East states of Abia ,Anambra ,Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.
Sir ,the appointment of Hon.Mark C Okoye as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer is a big minus for the leadership and members of APC in Anambra state.
Considering the person and political affiliation of Hon Mark Okoye ,the party feels terribly injured and bruised if the appointment is allowed to stand.
Hon.Okoye is a full fledged member of the All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA and has served as Special Adviser to the Governor of Anambra state on Budget and Economic Planning in the Chief Willie Obiano APGA administration.
He is currently the Managing Director of the Anambra state Investment,Promotion and Protection Agency ANSIPPA ,in the Anambra state Government led by Prof.Charles Soludo of APGA.
More worrisome is the fact that Your Excellency , appointed and inaugurated a serving member of APGA BOT ,Mrs Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu as the Minister of State ,Ministry of Foreign Affairs ,thereby representing Anambra state in the Cabinet of Mr President and the Federal Executive Council.
These appointments of non-APC members from.Anambra state have continued to debase the entire stakeholders and members of the party in the state” APC stated.
Consequently, the party called for an immediate review of the composition of the Commission’s Board accommodate all the states in the region.
It also demanded the reconsideration of Hon Okoye as the MD/CEO ,with a view to appointing an APC member ,who will be able to carry party members along.
“The party in Anambra has the capacity to produce very competent persons that can effectively man these offices and sincerely deliver on the mandate of Mr President in line with the party manifesto and programme”, the statement further noted.
Discover more from The Source
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
