Bill to establish South South Development Commission passes second reading at senate

A bill seeking to establish the South South Development Commission has passed second reading at the senate.

The bill passed second reading on Thursday after Ekpenyong Asuquo, senator representing Cross River south, led a debate on it.

Asuquo said the south-south people need a commission to address their needs because the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has member states that are not from the geo-political zone.

Contributing to the debate, Barau Jibrin, deputy senate president, argued that since all geo-political zones are having their own commission, it is only right the south-south has.

“I support this bill because I believe what is good for the goose is good for the gander,” the deputy senate president said.

“The Niger Delta area has the NDDC. It was created to try to mitigate environmental challenges and it is not restricted to the south-south alone.

“When this is passed, we will have to look at NDDC to change its name to oil producing states or something.”

Sunday Karimi, senator representing Kogi west, said the south-south needs their own commission because crude oil, a mainstay of Nigeria’s economy, is obtained from there.

“South-South they work on the altar and they must be fed at the altar. I fully support this bill,” Karimi said.

The bill passed second reading after Senate President Godswill Akpabio put it to a voice vote.

He referred the bill to the committee on special duties to report back in a week.

Meanwhile, the senate made amendments to the North West Development Commission and South East Development Commission bills to provide for geo-political representation in their governing boards.