The Senate has passed the South-East Development Commission Bill, SEDC that will be charged with the responsibility of receiving and managing funds from the allocation of the Federation Account for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses and other infrastructural damages suffered by the region as a result of the effect of the civil war.

The Bill which is coming fifty-three years after the Nigerian civil war, was read the third time on Thursday after the Committee of the Whole and passed.

Meanwhile, the South-South Development Commission ( Establishment) Bill, 2004( SB.358) sponsored by Senator Ekpenyong Asuquo, APC, Cross River has been introduced as the first reading in the Senate.

The passage of the SEDC bill on Thursday was a sequel to consideration of the report on a Bill for an Act to establish the South East Development Commission in the Federal Republic of Nigeria to act as a catalyst to develop the commercial potentials of the South East and for other connected matters, 2024 (HB. 626) and presented by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Central.

The bill was presented on Wednesday by the Senate Leader, for concurrence, but was referred to the next legislative day for deliberation.

Recall that the House of Representatives on December 21, 2023, at its Committee of the Whole chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, who is also the sponsor of the Bill, unanimously passed it for 3rd reading and sent it to the Senate for concurrence.

The Senate approved the long title of the Bill as recommended, clause 2 as amended, clauses 3 to 5 as recommended, clause 6 as amended, clauses 7 to 29 as recommended, interpretation clause 30 as recommended, short title clause 31 as recommended, schedules 1 and explanatory memorandum as recommended.

According to the explanatory memorandum of the bill, the commission will be charged with the responsibility of receiving and managing funds from the allocation of the Federation Account for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses and other infrastructural damages suffered by the region as a result of the effect of the civil war.

The Commission will also tackle the ecological problems and any other related environmental or developmental challenges in the Southeast States which include Abia, Imo, Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi.

The Commission, when established, shall among other functions, “conceive, plan and implement, by the set rules and regulations, projects and programmes for the sustainable development of the South East States in the field of transportation including roads, health, education, employment, agriculture, industrialization, housing and urban development, water supply, electricity and telecommunications; cause the South East States to be surveyed to ascertain measures which are necessary to promote its physical and socio-economic development.

“Implement all the measures approved for the development of the South East States by the Federal Government and the member States of the Commission; identify factors inhibiting the development of the South East States and assist the member States in the formulation and implementation of policies to ensure sound and efficient management of the resources of the South East States; assess and report on any project being funded or carried out in the South East States by mineral extracting and mining companies, oil and gas producing companies, and any other company including non-governmental organisations and ensure that funds released for such projects are properly utilized.

Other functions Include, “tackling ecological and environmental problems that arise from the extraction and mining of solid mineral, exploration of oil mineral in the Southeast states and advise the Federal Government and the member States on the prevention and control of oil spillages, gas flaring and environmental pollution; liaise with the various solid mineral extraction and mining companies and oil and gas prospecting and producing companies on all matters of pollution prevention and control; and execute such other works and perform such other functions which in the opinion of the Commission are required for the sustainable development of the South East States and its peoples.”

With the passage at both Chambers, a Conference Committee will be set up to harmonize differences before it will be transmitted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his assent.

Supporting the bill on the establishment of the South East Development Commission, Senator Victor Umeh, LP, Anambra Central explained that the establishment of the Commission would aid infrastructure development in the region since the end of the Civil War in Nigeria.

In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, noted that once the Bill becomes law, it brings development and the region’s fears will be addressed.

Akpabio said, “It’s a very important bill passed by this 10th Senate, this bill addresses all the fears of our brothers and sisters from the South East, it will put an end to the marginalization. I want to say congratulations. I pray this Commission will bring a lot of development to the South East and we will assist you to stop any form of agitation and bring peace to your region. When harmonized, it will address the fears of the south-east”.

Recall that moves to establish the South West Development Commission, SWDC got a boost on Wednesday as it scaled the second reading.

This was after the consideration of a bill for an act to Establish the South West Development Commission charged with the responsibility among others to receive and manage funds from the allocation of the Federation Account, including donations and gifts, for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructural damages suffered by the region and to tackle ecological, environmental and other developmental challenges and for related matters, 2024 (SB. 68).

It was presented by Senator Olugbenga Daniel, APC, Ogun East.

Also on Wednesday, a bill for the establishment of the North Central Development Commission scaled second reading in the Senate.

This was a sequel to the presentation of the Bill for an Act to Establish the North Central Development Commission as a catalyst to develop the arrays of potentials of the North Central as well as address the gap in infrastructural development of the region and for related matters, 2024 (SB. 140). It was sponsored by Senator Sani Musa, APC, Niger East and Abba Moro, PDP, Benue South.

The bill for the establishment of the South East Development Commission which appeared as Conconcurent was referred to another legislative day for second reading.

Recall that when Senator Daniel presented the bill in August last year for consideration and subsequent passage, he had said that when established, the Commission would be saddled with the responsibilities of managing and administering funds received from the Federation account.

South West Development Commission ( Establishment) Bill was reintroduced then for the second time, after it was first brought to the Senate in the 8th National Assembly on December 20, 2018.

The bill, which was sponsored by Senator Gbenga Ashafa, APC, Lagos East in the 8th Senate, was read for the first time at plenary presided over by then President of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

Ashafa’s bill was entitled: South West Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2018. They are Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Lagos, Osun and Oyo.

The proposal to establish a South West Development Commission then came eight days after the Senate passed the South East Development Commission Bill 2018.

If these are passed and signed into law along with the South East Development Commission Bill which may be returned to the Senate for consideration, they will bring to six, the number of regional interventionist agencies in the country, leaving only the North Central yet to propose for the establishment of such a Commission.

Already in existence are the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, and the North East Development Commission, NEDC, which establishment bill received Presidential assent in October 2017.