Senate seeks creation of North East Development Commission
From Fred Itua, Abuja
SENATE, yesterday, received a bill seeking to establish the
North-East Development Commission (NEDC), which will have legal powers
to receive and manage funds from the Federation Account and
international donors.
The bill stipulates that the zone will receive, on monthly basis,
from the Federation Ac- count, an equivalent of 15 percent of the total
monthly statutory allocations due to mem- ber states of the commission.
This will be the contribution of the Federal Government to the
commission.
Eighteen senators from the North-East, which cuts across party line,
jointly submitted the bill before the Senate. The lawmakers told newsmen
that the bill is aimed at rebuilding the zone, which they said has been
devastated by Boko Haram.
Chairman of the North- East Senate Caucus, Danjuma Goje, who
alongside his col- leagues from the zone, said the commission when set
up, will complement other agen- cies of government, including state and
local governments in rebuilding the region.
He also said when the com- mission is fully in force; it will
function like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the
North- East, just as he expressed hope that the bill will receive
expeditious passage and as- sent of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Meanwhile, in the bill submitted by the senators, the commission, when backed by law, will be charged with the
responsibility of settling, rehabilitating, and reconstructing the
roads, houses, and business premises of victims of insurgency.
It will also address the problems of poverty, illiteracy, ecological
problems, and other developmental challenges and environmental crisis
facing the region.
The commission, according to the bill, will have a board which shall
have a chairman, and six other members, all representing the six
North-East states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe
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