Regions intensify lobby for Development Commissions despite unrealised goals
…Senate approves one for S’West zone
BY HARUNA SALAMI
The establishment of Development Commissions in Nigeria has become a keen competition among the six geo-political zones of the country raising the question of whether they are meeting the development challenges that informed their establishment.
Well-deserved as they may seem, one is forced to examine how the establishment of such commissions have fared against the background of meeting the set objectives.
The first to be established is the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by former president, Olusegun Obasanjo in 2000, with the sole mandate of developing the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
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One of the core mandates of the commission is to train and educate the youths of the oil rich Niger Delta regions to curb hostilities and militancy while developing key infrastructure to promote economic diversification and productivity.
North East Development Commission (NEDC) Bill was signed into law in 2017 by then President Muhammadu Buhari as a major step to underscore national concern with the devastation suffered by the region due to the Boko Haram insurgency.
The NEDC was specifically mandated to restore peace and normalcy in the north-east and make the harrowing experience of the people as a result of insurgency a thing of the past.
The North West Development Commission and South East Development Commission bills were signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in July 2024.
North West Development Commission was set up to facilitate the reconstruction of roads, houses and business premises destroyed by multi-dimensional crises as well as tackle poverty, literacy level, ecological problems and any other related environmental or developmental challenges for states in North West.
The six states in the North West: Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara have suffered unprecedented banditry attacks in the recent past that have led to the destruction of infrastructure and human lives, underscoring the need for the development commission.
Similarly, the South East Development Commission ((SEDC) was established tackle ecological challenges, especially erosion and other developmental issues orchestrated by insecurity in the five South East states.
Only last week Thursday September 26, 2024 the Senate passed the South West Development Commission bill into law to also tackle developmental challenges of the states in the region.
The passage of the SWDC, if assented to by President Bola Tinubu will bring to 5 the number of development commissions in the country.
The Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin who presided over the plenary expressed delight with the passage and urged President Tinubu to assent to the bill when transmitted to him for the benefit of the people of the zone.
Already we have the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), North East Development Commission (NEDC), South East Development Commission (SEDC), North West Development Commission (NWDC) and now South West Development Commission (SWDC).
The only zone out of the six geo-political zones in the country yet to have a development commission is the North Central zone. Already the bill for that of the North Central Development Commission is before the National Assembly.
However, the crucial question to ask now is whether the development commissions are living up to the expectation of Nigerians?
Looking at the records of the NDDC, the first to be established in 2000, one can remember the can of worms that were always revealed at various probe panels of the National Assembly.
Contract inflation, abandoned projects, embezzlement, dubious payments and other fraudulent cases were the major cases at such probes.
In a particular drama at one of the numerous probe sessions, what looked like a shouting match between the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC and the Minister of Nigeria Delta resulted in viral video of “off your mic, honourable minister”.
On another occasion, MD of the NDDC, also testifying before House Committee collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, ending the probe for that day.
At a time the Federal Government ordered a forensic audit of the NDDC, but it is doubtful if that has changed anything.
It will be recalled that during the Covid-19, the NDDC alleged paid billions of naira as overseas travel expenses when there was lockdown all over the world.
The story of the NEDC is not too different as stories of dubious withdrawals running into billions of naira in the media and a petition against such publications made the police to wade into the matter recently.
It is obviously too early to assess North West Development Commission and the South East Development Commission established this July, which President Tinubu recently inaugurated the boards, one can only hope that they will not take after NDDC that has little or nothing to show for 24 years of existence.
It is almost certain that North Central Development Commission Bill, the only remaining zone to have a development commission, will be passed in both chambers of the National Assembly soon.
When that happens, each of the six geo-political zones will have a development commission and we sincerely hope that they engage in a healthy competition of which one develops its zone better and not which one steals more or engages in more corruption.
