October 12, (THEWILL) – The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the establishment of development commissions, one each for the South-East and the South-West.
At the same Tuesday sitting, the Bill seeking to establish the North-Central Development Commission was passed for a second reading.
Representatives had unanimously adopted the reports of its committees on the commissions for South-East and South-West.
The new commissions, whose establishment Bills were passed into law by the Green Chamber on Tuesday, follow the pattern of the preceding Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the North-East Development Commission (NEDC).
While the central government’s intervention became necessary in the Niger Delta to tackle years of pollution and neglect unleashed by oil exploitation, the North-East needed a response over bombardment and devastation from insurgency.
Expected to serve a similar purpose that its predecessors serve in their respective geo-political zones, the two new commissions are being established to push the rehabilitation and development of the South-East and South-West regions of the country.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu recently called for a 1 percent allocation from the Federal Government purse to redress the infrastructural wear and tear Lagos suffers by hosting the ports, an international border and the key role the state plays in the country’s socio-economic development.
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