Former House of Representatives member and 2023 senatorial candidate for Ebonyi South, Hon. Linus Okorie, has dismissed claims that the Southeast has been favoured in federal appointments and project allocations under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Okorie, who represented Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo Federal Constituency from 2011 to 2019, described the region as “starkly and systemically side-lined,” countering the position of Works Minister David Umahi, who recently said the zone had benefited more than ever before.
In a strongly worded statement in Abakaliki on Monday, Okorie said:
“The pattern of appointments and federal project allocations under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has once again highlighted the stark marginalization of the Southeast in Nigeria’s governance structure. From the President’s closest advisers down to ministerial and board appointments, the Southeast has been systematically side-lined. Not a single Igbo voice exists in the President’s inner circle.”
He pointed to the non-inclusion of the Southeast in the Presidential Committee on the 2025 National Population and Housing Census as “another painful reminder” of exclusion.
On ministerial representation, Okorie noted that while the zone received the constitutional minimum of five slots, three were junior positions, compared to Ogun State alone, which boasts five full cabinet ministers.
The former lawmaker also cited disparities in infrastructure allocation, saying:
“₦2.5 trillion worth of contracts and over 1,200 kilometres of road construction have gone to the Southwest, while the Southeast has been allocated a paltry ₦446 billion covering less than 250 kilometres. These figures are not rhetoric; they are facts that show how our zone is being systematically deprived of its rightful share of national resources.”
Okorie further criticised Umahi’s recent statement that the Southeast would “vote massively for Tinubu in 2027,” saying loyalty projections do not reflect the lived realities of the people.
“Hunger, unemployment, insecurity, impunity, and economic hardship have worsened under this administration, leaving our people more impoverished and disillusioned than ever before. The silence of the people is not consent or cowardice; it is the quiet gathering of strength, the calm before a decisive democratic verdict,” he said.
Calling for mass voter registration, Okorie urged Igbos at home and abroad to prepare for the 2027 general elections, framing it as a contest “between the APC and suffering Nigerians.”
He added that “the ‘Obidient’ philosophy that inspired millions in 2023 is not extinguishable; it remains the flame of hope for a restructured, inclusive, and prosperous New Nigeria.”
