Ex-Lawmaker, Linus Okorie Challenges Tinubu’s Record on South-East Economic Development

Former House of Representatives member and 2023 Labour Party senatorial candidate for Ebonyi South, Hon. Linus Okorie, has criticized the Federal Government’s claims of prioritizing economic development in the South-East, describing them as “a beautiful illusion” and “representation without results.”

Speaking in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, on Monday, Okorie dismissed recent statements by the Federal Ministry of Works, which portrayed the region as a key focus in President Bola Tinubu’s national development plan. He argued that what’s being presented as progress is largely “media hype,” “recycled projects,” and “propaganda dressed up as progress.”

Criticisms of FG’s South-East Project Claims

Okorie faulted the Ministry for allegedly misleading the public with what he called geographical conflation and misinformation, particularly in presenting projects located in the South-South as benefits to the South-East.

“Projects like the Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene and Port Harcourt–Aba roads are not located entirely within the South-East, yet they’re being showcased as regional development. In fact, the Abia State government had to take over part of the Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene road due to federal neglect—something now reframed as ‘collaboration,’” he said.

He also took aim at claims that the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway will benefit the South-East via the Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene corridor, calling it “a stretch bordering on deliberate misinformation,” since the approved route reportedly does not pass through the region.

Repackaged, Incomplete Projects

Referencing the ongoing Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway, Okorie said it remains incomplete after more than a decade and is simply being “rebranded” by the current administration without significant new input. “Repackaging such long-drawn projects as new achievements is a disservice to the people,” he noted.

Appointment of South-East Minister of Works “Not a Favour”

Okorie rejected the idea that appointing a South-East Minister of Works should be seen as a special gesture to the region.

“A ministerial office is a national trust, not an ethnic reward. Representation without results is not equity; it is an illusion,” he stated, adding that the region remains structurally marginalized and lacking in federal presence and fiscal inclusion.

Call to Action and Warning to Leaders

He called on South-East leaders within the Tinubu administration to speak out against what he described as “ongoing inequities,” including lopsided appointments, policy neglect, economic marginalization, and threats to civil rights. “Silence is complicity,” he warned.

Finally, he urged South-East citizens to become more politically active ahead of the 2027 general elections: “Redemption will not come from propaganda but from participation. Our people don’t need headlines—they need highways. Not promises—they want progress.”