Bill establishing North Central Commission passes second reading in Nigerian Senate

Bill establishing North Central Commission passes second reading in Nigerian Senate

- The North Central Development Commission (NCDC) would see the light of day anytime soon

- A bill establishing the NCDC has passed second reading in the Nigerian Senate

- The bill is sponsored by the senator representing Benue South Senatorial District, Abba Moro

A bill for an act to establish the North Central Development Commission (NCDC), passed second reading on the floor of Nigerian Senate on Thursday, March 12.

Legit.ng gathered that the NCDC Bill is being sponsored by a former minister of interior and senator representing Benue South Senatorial District, Abba Moro.

The bill seeks to establish a commission responsible for receiving and managing funds allocated by the federal government, international and local donors for the resettlement, rehabilitation, integration and reconstruction of roads, houses, farmlands and business premises in the north-central region of Nigeria.

The region is reeling from issues like flood, erosion, insurgency, bandits attack and farmer/herder clashes which has bedevilled the area over the years.

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Senator Abba Moro, a PDP senator from Benue state
The bill is sponsored by Senator Abba Moro, a PDP senator from Benue state
Source: UGC

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The funds are expected to help in the construction of large format drainage systems, dredging of rivers Benue and Niger to control flood, erosion and other incidental matters, as well as tackling the menace of poverty, illiteracy and other related environmental and developmental challenges in the region.

The bill was read for the first time on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday, November 27, 2019.

Senator Moro, while leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, said: “Despite being blessed with several mineral resources, including Rivers Benue and Niger, that could boost the economy of the country, the zone had remained handicapped in terms of development.’’

Moro posited that hundreds of acres of farmlands are damaged in the region where the people are largely agrarian; saying farmers in Agatu, Benue state and all other states in the zone have lost their crops and farmlands to flood and erosion.

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“It is no longer news that over the years, herder/farmer clashes in north-central Nigeria, especially in Benue state, have continuously made headlines.

“Consequently, infrastructures ranging from places of worship, roads, hospitals, schools, houses, recreational centres, etc, have been left tattered, shattered and pierced by bullets.

“Women, children, pregnant women and in fact, the entire population is a victim of the atrocities perpetrated by suspected herders in the north-central zone of Nigeria.

“Even animals and the environment are not spared the chaos and conundrum imparted on the north-central zone of Nigeria by the perpetrators of these unwholesome acts,’’ he added.

The Benue lawmaker, therefore, called on his colleagues to support the passage of the bill.

Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan, referred the bill to the committee on the establishment for further legislative actions, after it scaled through second reading.

The bill is coming barely two years after the passage of the North East Development Commission (NEDC).

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Recall that on Wednesday, March 11, a bill for establishing the North West Development Commission (NWDC) passed second reading at the Senate.

Meanwhile, a bill proposing the establishment of the South West Development Commission was met with stiff resistance in the Nigerian Senate.

The bill sponsored by former Ogun state governor and senator representing Ogun central, Ibikunle Amosun caused an uproar on the floor of the Senate, on Wednesday, March 4.

A defiant Amosun said the bill will act as a catalyst to develop the commercial and industrial potentials of the southwest region.

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