From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu has lauded the Senate for passing the Bill seeking the establishment of South East Development Commission (SEDC).
Kalu, according to a statement by his Special Assistant on Press Affairs, Udora Orizu, said the Bill when eventually eventually assented to by President Bola Tinubu, will help to rebuild the South East region, which is badly affected by the civil war.
The Senate had on Thursday passed the SEDC bill, which was sponsored by Kalu, and had been passed by the House,
after its consideration at the Committee of the Whole.
The deputy speaker noted that passage of the bill at a time when members of the National Assembly from the South East geo-political zone are championing the Peace in South East Project (PISE-P), a non-political movement committed to using non-kinetic approach to resolving the problems in the area..
He said “I am grateful to my colleagues in the Senate led by the President, Senator Godswill Akpabio for passing through 3rd reading the bill seeking the establishment of South East Development Commission (SEDC), which I sponsored. I am equally grateful to my colleagues in the House who in the first supported and passed the bill recently.
“The commission is very important because when established it will help in the rebuilding of the post war reconstruction that has not been attended to over fifty years.
” The Commission shall conceive, plan and implement, in accordance with the set rules and regulations, projects and programmes for the sustainable development of the South East States in the field of transportation including roads, health, education, employment, agriculture, industrialization, housing and urban development, water supply, electricity and telecommunications; cause the South East States to be surveyed in order to ascertain measures which are necessary to promote its physical and socio-economic development.
“Implement all the measures approved for the development of the South East States by the Federal Government and the member States of the Commission; identify factors inhibiting the development of the South East States and assist the member States in the formulation and implementation of policies to ensure sound and efficient management of the resources of the South East States.”