Senators have fast-tracked a bill to establish a South South Development Commission (SSDC), in spite of the existence of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The SSDC’s bill passed second reading on the floor of the Red Chamber in Abuja on Thursday, just as lawmakers proposed amendments to the North West Development Commission (NWDC) Act and the South East Development Commission (SEDC) Act earlier passed by the National Assembly.
It came amid indications that the Senate will also amend the NDDC ‘s Act to enable the commission to undergo a name change to accommodate any oil-bearing community in the country, irrespective of the geographical location.
The Nigerian Tribune recalls that senators had last July opposed the South South Development Commission Bill when it was first introduced on the grounds that it would duplicate the functions of the NDDC.
Following the opposition to the bill, largely by senators of northern extraction, the bill was stood down for further consultations.
However, between July and September this year, the Senate and the House of Representatives jointly passed the North West Development Commission Bill; the South East Development Commission Bill; and the South West Development Commission Bill, all which are now Acts of the National Assembly.
On Thursday, the South South bill was revisited again, this time receiving the overwhelming support of senators.
The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Asuquo Ekpenyong (APC, Cross River South), and former governor of Bayelsa State, Sen. Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West), in their separate contributions to the debate, convinced senators on how the SSDC bill is different from the NDDC.
Sen. Ekpenyong explained that, apart from its mission of developing oil-bearing communities and addressing environmental challenges, the NDDC undertakes “multi-regional” functions and extends to states outside the Niger Delta region like Abia, Ondo and Imo because they produce oil.
He added that the proposed SSDC would provide even development for all the states in the zone, irrespective of whether they produce oil.
“The commission will resolve ecological problems and other development challenges in all the South South states other than what happens in the Niger Delta areas”, he added.
Ekpenyong further argued that it would be unfair to create development commissions for the other zones of the country and exclude the South South on the excuse of having NDDC when some of the states in the other zones are also benefiting from the allocations of the NDDC.
On his part, Dickson gave the example of Cross River State, which he said though exists in the Niger Delta region, does not benefit from the NDDC.
He noted, “The state virtually gets nothing from NDDC, but with the South South commission, it will now benefit; this is also applicable to many other communities in the South South.
“The point is that we have to draw a demarcation between a resource-based commission, which is what the NDDC is, and a geopolitical zone commission like the proposed South South Development Commission.”
Senator Suleiman Abdulrahman-Kawu (NNPP, Kano South), one of the senators who earlier opposed the bill, made a U-turn on Thursday, admitting that he didn’t initially establish the difference between the NDDC and the proposed SSDC.
Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who also supported the bill, canvassed a name-change for the NDDC to capture every community that produces oil in the country.
He argued that with the coming of the SSDC, the NDDC should undergo a name-change from being an agency for Niger Delta affairs to either an oil-bearing or a resources-bearing development commission.
Jibrin explained that in this way, states that produce oil but are outside the Niger Delta, will automatically become members of the NDDC.
He cited Gombe, Bauchi, Kogi, Lagos, Ogun and others as states that have oil deposits and should be part of the NDDC in the future after the Act would have been amended.
“That means we have to look at the NDDC’s Act and change the name to oil bearing or producing areas development commission.
“When we have a community or state that has oil any time in the future, they are automatic members”, Jibrin said.
President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the session, agreed with Jibrin, saying, “That any state that produces oil in commercial quantities in the future will automatically be part of the NDDC. That is what we have to look at also.”
Meanwhile, the Senate passed for second reading, bills seeking to amend the North West Development Commission Act and the South East Development Commission Act.
In the case of the NWDC bill, it seeks to amend the act to provide for geographical representation in the Governing Board to prevent the chairman and the managing director being appointed from the same state in the North West.
It is also to give representation to other zones of the country on the board in line with the federal character principle.
A similar amendment to the SEDC Act seeks to delete the words “alphabetical order” from Section 13 of the law to ensure that the chairman of the board and the MD are not appointed from the same state within the zone.
Both amendments were proposed by the Leader of the Senate, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti-Central).
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