Bill to establish South South Development Commission scales second reading

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed for second reading, a bill for the establishment of a development commission for the South-South geopolitical zone.

The bill, sponsored by Awaji-Inombek Abiante (PDP, Rivers) when passed into law, would ensure speedy rehabilitation of damaged infrastructures in the South-South region.

In his lead debate at the plenary today, Abiante said the commission has the responsibility to receive and manage funds from the Federation Account Allocation and other sources, donations, grants, aids for the integration, development, resolution of infrastructural deficit, militancy, communal crisis as well as to tackle ecological and environmental problems.

According to him, it would also serve as springboard for the engagement, integration and development of the South-South region as well as resolve issues of infrastructural deficit, militancy, communal crises as well as the ecological problems and any other related environmental or developmental challenges in the region.