Senate passes South-East Development Commission bill

A bill seeking to establish the South-East Development Commission has scaled second reading in the Senate.

The bill which was co-sponsored by Sam Anyawu and Stella Oduah seeks to accelerate development in the South-East part of the country.

In his remarks, Senate President, Bukola Saraki urged lawmakers from the South-East region to ensure the unity of the country.

“The unity and development of a nation goes beyond a bill,” Saraki said.

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“I want us all to see that we owe the responsibility to ensure the unity of this country. We all have that role to play. In doing this as a Senate, we are showing that we are ready to show that we are ready to look at the pros and cons of the issues.

“But I think the issues go beyond just this bill. Distinguished colleagues, as some celebrate for this, we have to do more work. There are people that we are leading and we must go back and play our own role in uniting this country. Having commissions all over the country might not bring the results that we need,” the Senate president said.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in the lower legislative chamber – the House of Representatives – rejected the South-East Development Commission Bill.