As South-South Commission bill passes second reading
Senate on Thursday resolved to amend the North West and South East Development Commission Acts over positions of Managing Director and Chairman.
This is even as it passed for second reading, the South-South Development Commission bill, which was earlier stood down over the existence of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
Leading separate debates on the amendment acts bills, the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele said amendment on the North West Development Commission Act, 2024, seeks to provide for geo-political representation in the Governing Board of the Commission.
He said the amendment bill also seeks to reconcile the lacuna that exists in the provisions, relating to the appointments of the Chairman and the Managing Director of the commission by ensuring that the two are not appointed from the same state of the zone as well as subject the appointments to the confirmation of the Senate in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“For effective representation, and in line with the principles of Federal Character, it is imperative that membership of the commission be extended to other geo – political zones of the country which would be in tandem with extant Acts, relating to the establishment of Federal Commissions,” he said .
The Senate Leader gave similar reasons in his lead debate for amendment of the South- East Development Commission Acts .
In his remarks after passing the amendments bill for second reading, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, said the proposed amendments to the Acts, were very necessary for smooth running of the commissions across the zones.
Meanwhile the Senate also during plenary on Thursday, passed for second reading, the bill seeking for establishment of South-South Development Commission, few months after kicking against it.
Arguments canvassed by the sponsor of the bill, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (APC Cross River South) and Senator Seriake Dickson (PDP Bayelsa West) during debate on the bill, convinced Senators across party lines and geo – political zones to embrace the idea.
Senator Dickson in his contribution to the bill, said the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, being mistaken to be in the mode of zonal development commissions is a resource based commission that cut across the South- South geo-political zone.
“NDDC is a resource based commission meant to mitigate against environmental degradation caused by oil exploration across the oil producing state and fast track their development.
“The states cover by NDDC cuts across South-South, South-East and South- West, unlike zonal based commissions which the proposed South- South Commission, falls under,” he said.
Elated by total support given the proposed commission by all the Senators who contributed, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, thereafter, referred the legislative proposal to the Senate Committee on Special Duties and report back within one week .
