The five governors of the South East States, namely, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo, have agreed to contribute N5billion each to N140billion allocated to the South East Development Commission (SEDC) for the 2026 fiscal year.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on South East Development Commission, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North), disclosed on Wednesday during the submission of the report on the commission’s 2026 budget to the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
According to Senator Kalu, the budgetary augmentation for the commission by the South East governors was arrived at to facilitate impactful development-driven projects in 2026 across the five states.
“The Commission received hardly any funding in the 2025 fiscal year. Consequently, several projects and strategic initiatives were suspended and remain pending.
“The 2026 proposal is therefore for both fresh appropriation and necessary intervention to re-activate stale projects and restore developmental momentum across the region.
“In view of this, as chairman of the committee, one who has had deliberation with the governors and major stakeholders in the Southeast region, respectfully request that the committee consider an additional N5 billion allocation to each of the states, amounting to N25 billion, to augment the N140 billion.
“This additional provision will enable SEDC to accelerate the development of the region in health and educational sectors, in line with the Federal Government Renewed Hope Agenda”, he said.
In his remarks, Senator Tahir Monguno, who stood in for the chairman of the Appropriations committee, Senator Solomon Adeola, to receive the report, lauded the initiative and wished that Governors in other zones would emulate their South East counterparts.