A bill to establish the South South Development Commission earlier suspended on argument that it is a duplication of the functions of the Niger Delta Development Commission, has passed second reading in the Nigerian Senate on Thursday.
The proposed Commission, according to the bill sponsored by Senator Ekpeyong Asuquo (Cross River South), “was meant to receive and manage funds from the Federation Account Allocation and other sources, donations, aids, grants for integration, development, resolution of infrastructural deficit, militancy, communal crises as well as tackle ecological, environmental problems; and for related matters”.
Speaking on the bill, Senator Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa Central) maintained that the South South Development Commission, if approved, would develop the region.
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According to him, the South South Development Commission is distinctly different from the Niger Development Commission, which some Senators compared to it in terms of developmental responsibilities.
He said the NDDC was a resource based Commission, as only states with oil could benefit certain percentages of oil production. Emphasizing that not all states in the South South are benefiting from the NDDC.
Dickson said: “The NDDC is a resource based Commission and that is the reason OMPADEC was scrapped and replaced with NDDC. It is interesting to note that Ondo in South West, and Imo and Abia in South East, are beneficiaries of NDDC despite not being South South States.
“States in the North Central have the North Central Development Commission, despite having HYPADEC because they have water bodies generating electricity.
“The South South Development Commission is created based on geopolitical zones and I plead that senators should support this bill as it is often said, what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
“Also not all states in the South South region are benefitting from NDDC. For instance Cross River did not get anything after the court judgment some time ago, but if there is a geopolitically based Commission, they would get something.”
Senator Suleman Kawu (Kano South) and Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South), leveraging on Seriake Dickson’s explanation on the differences between NDDC and South South Development Commission, supported the bill bringing the total number of senator backing the bill to 10.
In his remarks, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio thanked the sponsor of the bill for this foresight and commended senators from other geopolitical zones for their understanding.
The deputy Senate President on his part, suggested that the name NDDC be altered to include other states that produce oil like Bauchi and Kogi.
The bill which scaled through the second reading, has been referred to the committee on special duties to report back within one week.
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