PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has signed the South-West and South-South Development Commission bills into law.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, made the announcement during plenary on Wednesday.
“No mechanism is too much to trickle down development and dividends of democracy to the grassroots.
“I am sure that with these development commissions, the impact of this administration will be felt by the grassroots.
We thank Mr president for completing it to the entire geo-political zones,” Kalu said.
During Tuesday’s plenary, Senate President Godswill Akpabio confirmed that the President has signed the South-West Development Commission Bill and South-South Development Commission Bill into law.
“Just to inform distinguished senators that Mr President has assented to the remaining regional development bills, the South-west Development Commission Bill and the South-south Development Commission Bill. We now have all the developmental commissions legally in existence,” Akpabio said.
Akpabio expressed appreciation to Tinubu for his cooperation with the National Assembly and for signing the bills establishing the commissions into law.
He said the commissions would create more jobs for Nigerians and facilitate grassroots development.
“We thank the president. We are grateful for his cooperation. We are grateful for creating jobs. We are also grateful to have taken development to the grassroots level,” he added.
The established regional commissions are tasked with enhancing infrastructure, economic growth, and social welfare within their respective regions.
The SWDC Bill was passed by the Senate in September 2024 with majority support before being transmitted to the House of Representatives for concurrence. It was sponsored by Ogun East Senator Gbenga Daniel.
Similarly, the SSDC Bill was passed in October 2024 and forwarded to the House of Representatives. The bill was sponsored by Cross-River South Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong.
These new commissions join the North-West Development Commission and the South-East Development Commission, both of which were signed into law by Tinubu in July 2024.
Their respective boards have since been constituted and confirmed by the Senate.
