Senators Disagree Over Location Of North East Development Commission

 The Senate Tuesday at plenary witnessed sharp disagreement between Senators from the six states of the North-East geopolitical zone over the proposed location of North East Development Commission (NEDC) headquarters.

The controversy was sequel to the presentation of a report on the Bill seeking to establish the North East Development Commission by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Special Duties, Sen Abdulazeez Nyako.

In his submission, Sen Nyako whose report could not clearly indicate the unanimous acceptance of a location for the commission by senators from the affected states and failed to define the source of funding for the commission.

The committee had in its report recommended that the commission should be located in Abuja, a choice that sparked off serious disagreement among the beneficiaries of the commission.

Another contentious issue that halted the consideration of the report was on mode of funding for the proposed commission. Senators observed that there was no clear cut means of funding the commission and resolved that it must be clearly stated.

Nyako, had presented the report on the bill, which went through public hearing three weeks ago, urging his colleagues to approve the report, to help alleviate the suffering of the Boko Haram ravaged North eastern states.

He explained that the fundamental objective of the bill was to establish the commission to be charged with the responsibility of receiving and managing funds from the Federation Account and other donor agencies for purposes of resettlement, rehabilitation of displaced persons and the reconstruction of the North-east Zone as a result of insurgency which began in the zone in 2009.

Related News

500
Leave a comment...