The Nigerian Senate on Thursday passed into law the bill establishing the South West Development Commission.
The passage followed the report presented by Senator Shehu Lawa Kaka, representing Borno Central Senatorial District and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Special Duties.
Senator Kaka in his presentation acknowledged the importance of the bill aimed at fast-tracking development in the region.
Kaka said, “If the Commission is established through presidential assent to the bill, it will, like other development-driven commissions established on a zonal basis, receive funds from the federation account, donations from development partners to address infrastructural deficits and tackle ecological problems in the region.”
Commenting after the passage, deputy senate president Senator Barau Jibril, who presided over the session, acknowledged the efforts of the committee.
Barau noted that the commission will facilitate environmental and ecological developments in the South West region.
The lawmaker noted, “The essence of the various development commissions being set up is to fast track development of the entire country.
“President Bola Tinubu has assented to similar bills passed for zonal development-driven interventions and will surely assent to this one.
President Bola Tinubu last Wednesday, July 24, 2024, brought the number of development commissions in Nigeria to four by signing the North-West and South-East Development Commissions bills into law.
What do you need to know?
The Niger Delta Development Commission was established in 2000 with the clear purpose of driving development in Nigeria’s oil-producing states. This was followed by the establishment of the North East Development Commission in 2017.
Establishing the South West Commission will make the development commissions five in the country.
Despite these measures, some experts are concerned that the commissions may become channels for corruption.
