The South East Youth Stakeholders Forum (SEYSF) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing the former Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu, as the pioneer Chairman of the South East Development Commission (SEDC), and hinted that his appointment would give the commission the much needed effective take off.
The Forum, however, appealed to the President to expedite action on the swearing in of the chairman and his members, so that the commission could commence in earnest the work of rebuilding and developing the South East for the good of the people of the region and Nigeria as a whole.
The Chairman of SEYSF, Dr. Ezenwa Oyinrimba, who was speaking with newsmen in Abuja, after his courtesy visit on the President/CEO of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), Mr. Daser David, described the appointment of Chief Wogu, a prominent leader in the South East and renown former Minister of Labour as the pioneer chairman of the commission as a welcome development.
According to him, since the Senate has confirmed their appointment, as forwarded to them by President Tinubu, the Forum is calling on the President to as a matter of urgency accelerate their swearing in and give them realistic targets within a short time to measure their performance. He said, “we want to appeal to the President to expedite the swearing in the SEDC members because we need them to start the work of developing the South East region immediately and work to provide employment for our teeming youth in the region.”
The members of the South East Youth Stakeholders Forum had earlier visited the DBI President to appeal to the institute on the revitalization and upgrading of the DBI South East Campus in Enugu for effective and continuous ICT/digital learning.
The Forum promised to mobilize and engage the South East leaderships and especially the South East Development Commission for this purpose.
Describing Wogu’s appointment as a round peg in a round hole, Dr. Oyinrimba said the former Labour Minister is a man of integrity, a man of the people and a man of his words who loves the youth and people of the South East.
The SEYSF Chairman said: “Emeka Wogu, the Chairman of the South East Development Commission has been a man of integrity, he has been a man of the people, he has been a leader for a very long time and one of the mouth pieces of the South East. Also, Emeka Wogu is an agent of change and a man who loves the young people of the South East.
“We know that he would be hundred per cent in support and willing to collaborate to ensure that the institute (DBI) in the South East functions.”
Chief Wogu was recently named the Chairman of the SEDC by President Tinubu, while Hon. Mark Okoye was appointed as the Managing Director/Chief Executive, along with 16 other members.
Following the confirmation of Chief Wogu and his members, the South East Youth Stakeholders Forum said President Tinubu should quickly complete the process by swearing in the Commission’s Chairman and its member for the much awaited take off of their duties and responsibilities.
Dr. Oyinrimba said the South East people who have suffered neglect for long are eager to see the commission come on board as quickly as possible to start addressing the myriad of problems bedeviling the region, especially in the area of job creation for the youth.
He believed that the partnership between the DBI and the SEDC would go a long way to addressing the problem of youth unemployment in the South East region, most especially as the world is shifting towards digitization and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Dr. Oyinrimba assured that the SEYSF would do everything possible to see that the SEDC succeeds under the Chairmanship of Chief Wogu and his management team. He called on the leaders and people of the South East region to fully support them for the success of the commission and the region.
