Hot SourceA former member of the House of Representatives and the 2023 Senatorial Candidate for Ebonyi South District, Linus Okorie has kicked against the claims in various quarters that the South-East geopolitical zone was cruising with juicy appointments and federal projects allocations under the current dispensation.
This is as he stated that the zone was starkly and systemically sidelined under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, adding that the non-representation of the region at the Presidential Committee on the 2025 National Population and Housing Census was another painful reminder.
The ex-lawmaker, who represented the Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo Federal Constituency between 2011 and 2019 said this in a statement on Sunday, a copy of which was obtained by our Correspondent.
He 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 composition of the President’s closest advisers, his so-called kitchen cabinet, down to ministerial and parastatal appointments, the Southeast has been systematically sidelined. Not a single Igbo voice exists in the President’s inner circle. The recent constitution of the Presidential Committee on the 2025 National Population and Housing Census provides another painful reminder: not one of the appointees came from the Southeast, despite the sensitive role of that body in shaping Nigeria’s future demographic and political balance.
“Ministerial appointments further expose this imbalance. While the constitution compels the President to appoint at least one minister from each of the 36 states, the Southeast has been left with the bare minimum, five slots, three of which are junior ministers. By contrast, a single state, Ogun, in the Southwest boasts five full cabinet-rank ministers. This glaring disparity reduces the zone’s voice in national decision-making and undermines the principle of federal character enshrined in our constitution.”
According to him, the 2027 general elections was between the rulling-All Progressives Congress, APC, and suffering Nigerians who find it difficult to eat three square meals daily.
He added, “The same lopsidedness is evident in infrastructure allocation. Federal road projects, supervised by our own Dave Umahi, as Minister, tell a troubling story: ₦2.5 trillion worth of contracts and over 1,200 kilometers of construction have gone to the Southwest, while the Southeast has been allocated a paltry ₦446 billion covering less than 250 kilometers. The Northwest, North Central, South South, and Northeast have all received far more substantial investments than the Southeast. These figures are not rhetoric; they are facts that show how our zone is being systematically deprived of its rightful share of national resources.”
He also called on Minister Umahi, to focus more on delivering projects to the zone, than ‘hoodwinking’ the South-East residents with his “Igbos are better off under Tinubu” propaganda, urging the region’s population to take the voter’s card registration exercise seriously.
“It is against this backdrop that the recent proclamation by the Hon. Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, that Ebonyi and the Southeast will “vote massively for Tinubu in 2027” deserves a sober response. While we appreciate his desire to project loyalty to his principal and protect his office, his personal political calculations do not translate into the collective will or best interest of the Southeast. The lived experiences of ordinary Nigerians, especially in the Southeast, contradict the narrative of inclusion he presents.
“Hunger, unemployment, insecurity, impunity, and economic hardship have worsened under this administration, leaving our people more impoverished and disillusioned than ever before. Indeed, the very reasons why Peter Obi won the hearts of Nigerians in 2023—his character, competence, credibility, transparency, and proven capacity—remain valid today.
Also, the prevailing national conditions have only made Nigerians, and particularly the Southeast, even more Obidient than 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. Those who mistake their festive gatherings or appointments as evidence of loyalty misread the people. While a partisan new yam festival may offer the ruling political elites a false sense of victory, the majority of Nigerians who endure daily suffering are further incensed by the lack of empathy shown by those in power.
“I, therefore, appeal to every Ebonyian, every Igbo son and daughter, both at home and in the diaspora, to see this moment as a call to action. The 2027 general elections will not be about political parties; it will be between the APC and the Nigerian people determined to free themselves from corruption, exclusion, and bad governance. Now more than ever, our weapon of redemption and expression is our voter’s card.
“Let no one wait for government support or mobilization to register; that may well be the strategy to suppress our numbers. Every eligible voter in the Southeast must hasten to register, update, and safeguard their PVC. The “Obidient” philosophy that inspired millions in 2023 is not extinguishable; it remains the flame of hope for a restructured, inclusive, and prosperous #NewNigeria.
“I urge every family, community, and association in the Southeast to treat voter registration as a collective redemptive duty. Our emancipation lies not in lamenting exclusion but in preparing, in unity, to decisively shape the nation’s future in 2027,” he said.
Ex-lawmaker, Okorie dismisses claims of juicy project allocation to South-East under Tinubu
