The trio of Kaduna state Governor Uba Sani, Deputy Senate President Jibril Barau and Deputy Speaker House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, have commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signing the North-West Development Commission (NWDC) Bill and the South East Development Commission (SEDC)Bill into law.
In a statement Wednesday, Governor Sani described the action as “a decisive step to pull the North-west back from the brink.”
The governor, in a statement by his media aide, Mohammed Shehu, said: “I wish to express my profound gratitude to our dear President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for signing the North-west Development Bill into law.
“This is no doubt the most significant piece of news I have received in decades. It clearly demonstrates President Tinubu’s deep concern for the North-west and commitment to addressing its multifaceted developmental and security challenges.”
He lauded the president for his “uncommon support to State Governments in the North to effectively tackle their myriad challenges and set the region on the path to sustainable growth and development.”
To stakeholders in the zone, he said: “We must come together and fashion a Marshall Plan for the development of the North-west. Our plan must be people – driven and all inclusive. The people that will be saddled with the responsibility of running the North West Development Commission must be men and women of transparent honesty, knowledgeable, creative and innovative. There must be no room for incompetence and lethargy.
The North West Development Commission was established to address the challenges facing the seven states in the North-west geopolitical zone with the aim of bringing the Federal Government closer to people in the zone.”
…Barau, Kalu too
In a similar commendation, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau said the NWDC would help drive development across the seven states in the zone.
Speaking to journalists Wednesday in Abuja, the lawmaker said: “President Bola Tinubu today signed into law, the North West Development Commission Bill sponsored by me .
“The Commission will assist in the development of geo-political zone in terms of required infrastructure , production of food etc.
“It would be recalled that Boko Haram , kidnappers and bandits ravaged the zone like the North East with attendant drop in development indices .
“With the assent to the bill, the coast is now clear for rebuilding of the zone. President Tinubu has no doubt , shown that he loves the people and in the light of this , I called on Nigerians to be patient with Mr President.”
In a related development, Deputy Speaker House of Representatives Kalu described Tinubu’s assent to the SEDC Bill as historic.
“As we all know from our history, Nigeria’s transition from the unfortunate civil war exactly 54 years ago was hallmarked by the three “Rs”: Reconciliation, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction. Nigeria has since carried out reconciliation and rehabilitation, however, this act being assented to by the president exemplifies the commencement of the complete reconstruction of our beloved South-Eas,”, Kalu said during a media briefing in Abuja.
He said the bill becoming law was not “just a legislative victory, it as it is a historic milestone for the South-east geopolitical zone. The commission will receive and manage funds from the allocation of the Federation Account for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses, and other infrastructural damages suffered by the zone as a result of the civil war.
“It will also tackle ecological problems and other related environmental or developmental challenges in the South-east states, including Abia, Imo, Enugu, Anambra, and Ebonyi.”
“The Act is a testament to our collective effort and commitment to rebuilding and revitalising our beloved region. I am grateful to my colleagues in the National Assembly and to all Nigerians who supported this bill, and most especially, to President Tinubu for his unwavering support and leadership,” he added.
…Ohanaeze also
Similarly, theYouth Wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide said with the SEDC coming into being, the age-long civil war in the South-east has ended.
Acting National Youth Leader of the group, Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu, said this at a media parley in Awka, Ebonyi state, Wednesday.
“We commend the president for the boldness and patriotic act of assenting to the South-East Development Commission Bill,” he said.
Okpalaezeukwu said Tinubu had finally ended the age-long civil war in the South East with the creation of the commission, expressing the hope the commission would assist in healing the nation and Southeast on the basis of equity, justice and fairness.
“We affirm our absolute support and solidarity to the Tinubu-led administration,” he said.
He said: “We commend the president for the boldness and patriotic act of assenting to the South East Development Commission Bill.
“I must commend all the stakeholders who played critical role to ensure this milestone achievement and making this dream a reality. I thank particularly the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Chief Benjamin Kalu, and his colleagues, Southeast Governors, led by Sen. Hope Uzodinma of Imo, and the National Assembly.
“By assenting to the bill to establish the commission, the president has finally ended the age-long civil war in Southeast. Recall that the war ended on a treaty of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, but successive governments did not implement that treaty. We are hopeful that the commission shall implement the treaty.”
Why I signed the Bills – Tinubu
President Tinubu signed the two bills into law into law Wednesday to accelerate development across geo-political zones of the country, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Chief Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement in Abuja.
The statement said: “The North-West Development Commission is set up to facilitate the reconstruction of roads, houses, and business premises destroyed by multidimensional crisis, as well as tackle poverty, literacy level, ecological problems, and any other related environmental or development challenges in North-West states.
“In addition, the South-East Development Commission is established to ensure the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses, and other infrastructural damages suffered by the zone, as well as tackle ecological problems, and other related environmental or developmental challenges in South-East states.
“The president said he believes in building the nation on the fulcrum of fairness, equity and unity, stressing that he is committed to ensuring equitable development, inclusive governance and the provision of qualitative services to all Nigerians — no matter where they reside — while knitting even more tightly together the national fabric.” (Additional reports from Premium Times)