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HURIWA Demands Accountability from SEDC Over N140Bn Budget Utilisation
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has challenged the South East Development Commission (SEDC) leadership to provide transparent details on achievements recorded in its inaugural year despite an approved budget of N140 billion for 2025.
SEDC
HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, disclosed that the group’s researchers found no concrete evidence of infrastructure projects executed in the South-East region for the benefit of the Igbo people since the commission’s inception.
Efforts to obtain specifics from Senate Committee Chairman on SEDC, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, and Governing Board Chairman, Chief Emeka Wogu, yielded vague responses, with Wogu citing a mere “road map” and Kalu claiming no information was available.
The rights group recalled that the National Assembly approved N140 billion for SEDC in the N54.9 trillion 2025 budget passed on February 14, matching allocations for other regional commissions like South-West, South-South, and North-Central, while North-West received N145.61 billion and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) got N626.53 billion.
President Bola Tinubu signed the SEDC Establishment Bill into law on July 24, 2024, with the board inaugurated on February 12, 2025, under Chairman Emeka Wogu and Managing Director Mark Okoye.
Okoye, in his inaugural address, quoted the World Bank estimating a $10 billion annual investment need over 30 years to bridge the region’s infrastructure gap, pledging collaboration with states, private sector, and partners to build a $200 billion economy by 2035.
Priorities outlined include security and investment infrastructure, agriculture, industrialisation, technology, innovation, and human capital development, amid challenges like insecurity, low ease-of-doing-business, unemployment, and 2,500 erosion sites displacing thousands.
HURIWA noted that while the commission’s creation sparked optimism to address post-Civil War neglect, bureaucratic hurdles, political meddling, and funding opacity threaten its potential, aligning with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for inclusivity.
The group described SEDC’s performance as a “spectacular failure,” urging Igbo youths and intellectuals to demand accountability to prevent elite capture of funds meant for roads, housing reconstruction, ecological remediation, agriculture, manufacturing, technology, railways, and energy projects in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states.
Onwubiko warned that pocketing the cash-backed N140 billion would betray the Igbo people’s development aspirations, calling for immediate disclosure of expenditures and verifiable outcomes.
Accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) adoption could increase Africa’s GDP by up to 4% over the next decade, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a report released on Tuesday, titled Africa Can Grow Faster With AI—If It Moves Now, economists from the IMF’s Africa Department say current levels of AI adoption and utilisation are expected to contribute just 0.2% to the region’s GDP over the next 10 years.
However, the report says stronger adoption, supported by the right infrastructure and policies, could raise the economic impact to about 4% by extending AI beyond today’s digitally connected firms.
Martin Schindler and other IMF economists say: “AI adoption in sub-Saharan Africa currently lags well behind every other region. If richer economies race ahead while African firms and governments lag, the productivity gap between the region and the rest of the world will only widen.”
Early signs of AI adoption are emerging across Africa, with countries including Zimbabwe, Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria developing AI strategies.
Telecommunications operators, including Vodacom, Econet, Africell and MTN, are also integrating AI into their operations and networks.
Other examples include chatbots supporting teaching and learning in Nigeria and the South African Revenue Service’s use of data analytics for targeted tax audits.
However, the IMF says AI adoption must extend beyond these early use cases to deliver meaningful economic benefits.
“For the region, AI’s main promise is not about replacing office workers, but boosting productivity across the economy—helping informal firms manage inventory, enabling farmers to increase yields, and supporting mid-sized firms to transition to formality and export readiness,” the report reads.
The IMF is urging governments to prioritise investment in reliable electricity, affordable broadband, data infrastructure and digital skills to support wider AI adoption.
Many African countries, including Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, continue to face electricity shortages, while broadband services remain costly and coverage is uneven.
The Fund believes stronger investment in power, connectivity, regional data infrastructure and digital skills would help unlock AI’s economic potential.
National Population Commission (NPC) has commenced the nationwide digital registration of births and deaths under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system to strengthen legal identity management and improve demographic data.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lokoja on Tuesday, Mr Afolabi Yori, federal commissioner representing Kogi, said the initiative became operational nationwide on July 1, through the VitalReg platform.
Yori described the development as a landmark in Nigeria’s civil registration system, noting that it would modernise birth and death registration through a technology-driven platform that meets international standards.
He said the digital platform would improve service delivery, strengthen data integrity and ensure that every birth and death occurring in Nigeria was accurately documented and securely stored.
According to him, civil registration is more than an administrative process, as it provides reliable statistics that support public policy formulation, resource allocation and national development planning.
“Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, yet millions of births and deaths remain unregistered.
“Birth registration coverage currently stands at about 57 per cent nationwide, while death registration remains below 20 per cent,” he said.
The commissioner said that the commission had established 4,011 functional registration centres across the country’s 774 local government areas and was working to expand the number to about 8,000.
He added that the commission was strengthening collaboration with stakeholders to improve the capacity of registration personnel and ensure prompt documentation of vital events through the VitalReg platform.
Yori said the platform would provide faster registration services, 24-hour online access, digital certificate issuance where applicable, and reduce paperwork, waiting time and unnecessary travel.
He disclosed that the platform was being operated under a Public-Private Partnership with Barnks-forte Technologies Ltd. as the commission’s technical partner to ensure system availability, cybersecurity and continuous technological improvement.
He called on parents, healthcare institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations, development partners and the media to support the initiative by encouraging the prompt registration of births and deaths.
Earlier, Samuel Omonakpeme, director in Kogi, NPC State, described the commencement of the digital registration system as another milestone in efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system.
Omonakpeme stated that the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 16.9, which seeks to provide legal identity for all.
He appreciated the Federal Government, the leadership of the commission, UNICEF and other development partners for supporting the implementation of the initiative.
The state director also urged parents, guardians, health institutions, community leaders, religious organisations and the media to mobilise public support for the timely registration of all births and deaths.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that ICT personnel of the commission, led by Ehimoni Kolawole, conducted a live demonstration of the digital birth registration process using the VitalReg platform.
The demonstration showed that the registration process captures the biodata of both parents, while at least one parent must possess a valid National Identification Number (NIN) to complete the registration of a newborn.
Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) has alerted its customers to a fraudulent message circulating on social media, falsely claiming that electricity consumers can receive an additional 20 per cent bonus units when recharging their prepaid meters through unofficial channels.
In a statement issued by the company’s management on Monday, YEDC described the claim as false and urged customers to disregard the misleading information, stressing that it did not originate from the company.
According to the statement, YEDC does not offer bonus electricity units through individuals, agents, personal bank accounts, phone numbers, or social media contacts.
The company advised customers to purchase electricity tokens only through approved cashless payment platforms, including the YEDC Pay App, OPay, Interswitch, and other authorised vending channels, or to visit the nearest YEDC office for assistance.
YEDC also cautioned customers against sharing their meter details or personal information, or making payments to unauthorised persons claiming to represent the company.
The company further urged customers to rely exclusively on information disseminated through its official communication channels to avoid falling victim to fraud.
The management thanked customers for their continued cooperation and reaffirmed its commitment to serving them.
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