Former Governor of Imo State and now, Senator representing Imo West Senatorial district, Rochas Okorocha, has backed the proposed creation of the Southeast Development Commission and called on his colleagues in the Senate to collectively support the bill to scale through.
Okorocha argued that such a bill may help in assuaging the disaffection of majority of Ndigbo over perceived and real marginalization of the Southeast by successive federal governments.
The ex-Imo state Governor who spoke in a statement issued by Jones Onwusoanya and forwarded to DAILY POST on Friday, opined that the Southeast is the only zone in the country that has its people in every village, anywhere in the country, yet, the Nigerian nation appears to be treating the zone with suspicion.
“I do not know if I can find people from the Southwest or other parts of Nigeria in my village, but I am sure that in every village in this country, there must be an Igbo family. Igbos love Nigeria and have shown great commitment to the unity of this country and there is no reason for Nigeria to give us any reason to feel unwanted.”he posited.
The Imo Senator also regretted that the loan request made by the federal government, which has recently passed in the Senate does not have any developmental item targeted at the Southeast.
He expressed displeasure with the reality that a good number of South easterners feel disenchanted with how the Nigerian government has responded to issues affecting the Southeast and called for more developmental projects to be sited in the Southeast.
“If you talk of the group of Nigerians that have done the most to advance the unity of this country, then, you must talk about the Igbo man. We have shown good fate with this country. We have accepted every part of Nigeria as our own, and we certainly deserve better than we have got. That is why you see us, go to anywhere, buy lands, build our businesses and build our homes. We contribute to the development of our country without considering anywhere as different from ours, therefore, the Nigerian government must also treat us better.”
