Two months after meeting with Senate C’ttee, netizens ask Mark Okoye’s whereabout

By Ifeizu Joe

Two months after a video of the Senate committee meeting with the Managing Director of South East Development Commission (SEDC), Mr Mark Okoye surfaced, where he was grilled about funds allocated to the commission, netizens have started asking for the whereabout of the young MD.

In the viral video, Okoye had been cautioned about spending the commission’s funds on intangible things like seminars and workshops, while the chairman of the committee, Senator Orji Kalu revealed that the committee was aware of a one room office in Abuja where the MD lavished N153million.

The video had generated a lot of backlash, with many faulting the running of the commission, especially the defence of its budget which they said was padded with mostly funds for workshops and seminars, both at home and abroad, instead of tangible projects that the South East can benefit from.

The senators expressed unhappiness with the running of the commission after the humongous sum of N16.6billion had been budgeted to it. The chairman of the commission also expressed displeasure that Okoye couldn’t state how much was in the commission’s account. While Okoye said the commission had between N11.5billion to N12billion in it’s account, Orji Kalu said the committee had already reached out to the Central Bank of Nigeria and knew that the commission had up to N13billion in its account presently.

In the concluding part of the video, the committee advised Okoye to go back and put his commission in order and return in the next one week for proper presentation.

But two months after, many were hoping to watch a repeat of the Senate meeting with the MD of the commission, but it is surprising that nothing has been heard anylonger, fueling speculation that something may have gone amiss.

A netizens, Mr Kingsley Ubani in a Facebook post asked: “Where is Managing Director of South East Development Commission (SEDC), Mr Mark Okoye.”

The question quickly elicited response from Facebook users who flooded his comment section with varried answers.

Ifeakachi Ojadili replied that “He is preparing more MoUs”, while Oduorah Paul Okechukwu said: “He is attracting a seminar somewhere.”

For Nelson Ifebude, he said: “He is signing an MoU with FIFA,” but Obi Ibegbunam said: “This is just another painful sign of youth gone wrong. When we are in dire need of more of this kind of opportunity for the youths to make positive statements. Now, elders will have a reason to jettison giving opportunities to other youths.”

The replies of these netizens is understandable because many have touted Mark Okoye as youth ambassador, and have projected him as a good candidate for Anambra governorship position after Soludo, especially as he hails from the favoured zone – Anambra Central.