The Senate has passed the South East Development Commission Bill, 2018 (SB 303), which seeks to establish a commission responsible for the management and administration of funds received from the federation account for the development of the South East Zone.

Presenting the report on the Bill, at the plenary session of Wednesday, 12 December 2018, Chairman, Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters Sen. Emmanuel Paulker (PDP: Bayelsa) mentioned the objectives of the Bill to include:

• Establishing a master plan that will result in infrastructural and economic development of the zone; and
• Addressing the devastating effect of erosion and other environmental challenges.

Sen. Paulker mentioned that the Committee had received memoranda and conducted public hearing on the bill in order to avail stakeholders and the general public the opportunity to make further inputs on the provisions of the bill. He listed the key stakeholders to include:

1. Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation
2. The Nigerian Law Reform Commission
3. National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
4. Alaigbo Development Foundation
5. Mkpoko Igbo Integrity Forum
6. Civil Society Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations, among others.

Furthermore, he noted that stakeholders present at the Public Hearing were unanimous in their support for the passage of the Bill by the Senate. The highlights of the presentations include:

• Establishing a Commission that will serve as a catalyst for the development of the South East particularly in the areas of technology and other commercial activities;
• Addressing the issues of rehabilitation, reintegration and socio-economic development;
• Empowering the Commission with the mandate to promote peace and unity within the region.

Speaking on the proposed amendments in the Bill, Sen. Paulker explained that the Committee had altered the following provisions:

• The Long title of the Bill to eliminate the repetition of certain terms
• Clause 1 which deals with the Establishment of the South East Development Commission
• Clause 2 which deals with the Establishment of the Governing Board of the Commission
• Clause 9 which deals with the Structure of the Commission
• Insertion of a New Clause 12 which deals with the Secretary/Legal Adviser of the Commission
• Clause 13 which deals with the appointment of the Managing Director and Other Staff of the Commission
• Deletion of Clause 22 which deals with Establishment of a Monitoring Committee as the Commission would be subject to the legislative oversight of the National Assembly

Lastly, Sen. Paulker stated that the Bill, if passed, will address the incessant clamor and agitations arising from secession groups, complaints of neglects, marginalization and infrastructural deficiencies in the region. Following his submissions, the Senate unanimously adopted and approved the committee’s recommendation after which the bill was passed.