A bill for the establishment of South West Development Commission has scaled second reading at the House of Representatives.
The Bill, sponsored by Olufemi Fakeye and 80 others, at the plenary on Wednesday, was aimed at impacting the development of the region and the country at large.
The bill was later referred to the House Committee on Justice for further legislative action.
Leading debate on the general principles of the Bill, Fakeye said the Bill seeks to explore ways of dealing with challenges of the region through legislative means.
He noted that the population of the South West has increased and remained agrarian, with exports that relied on old plantations that are yearning for replanting.
“The Bill seeks to redirect federal budgetary attention to some areas of growth that could have multiplier effects of geometric proportions, such as Agriculture, Transportation, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Environment, etc., on the overall economy.
“Therefore, this aspiration is the rationale for all the Honourable Members from the six States of the Southwest, along with some of their colleagues who are not even native to any of the Southwest States, proposing this historic bill.
“By passing this Bill, we would be demonstrating the courage as national leaders to lift a finger towards turning the current sordid socio-economic fortunes of the zone and therefore of the country around, so that our youths could confidently channel their collective energy into productive endeavours that would yield for us a better future, rather than them, out of frustration and misguided desperation, engaging in anti-social practices that tend towards criminality.
According to the spelled out functions of the bill, it would formulate policies and guidelines for the development of the South West States; conceive, plan and implement, in accordance with the set rules and regulations, projects and programmes for the sustainable development of the South West States in the fields of transportation, health, education, employment, agriculture, industrialisation, housing and urban development, water supply, electricity, solid mineral exploitation and telecommunications and cause the South West States to be surveyed in order to ascertain measures which are necessary to promote its physical and socio-economic development.
The Commission is also expected to: prepare master plans and schemes designed to promote the physical development of the South West States and the estimates of the costs of implementing such master plans and schemes; implement all the measures approved for the development of the South West States by the Federal Government and the member-States of the Commission.
It would identify factors inhibiting the development of the South West States and assist the member-States in the formulation and implementation of policies to ensure a sound and efficient management of the resources of the South West States.
It would also assess and report on any project being funded or carried out in the South West States by mineral extracting and mining companies, oil and gas producing companies, and any other company, including non-governmental organisations and ensure that funds released for such projects are properly utilised.
The Commission is to further tackle ecological and environmental problems that arise from the extraction and mining of solid mineral, exploration of oil mineral in the South West States and advise the Federal Government and the member States on the prevention and control of oil spillages, gas flaring and environmental pollution; liaise with the various solid mineral extraction and mining companies and oil and gas prospecting and producing companies on all matters of pollution prevention and control.
The Commission is equally saddled with the responsibility of execution of such other works and perform such other functions which are required for the sustainable development of the South West States and its people as well as receive donations and gifts from any legitimate, documented source aimed at advancing its set goals, provided such donations shall be reported to the relevant federal authorities.