Senate passes South-east Development Commission bill

A bill seeking to establish the South-east Development Commission (SEDC) was on Thursday, February 22, passed by the Nigerian senate. 

Passage of the bill was announced during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, after it was read for the third time and supported by the majority of the senators.

It will be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent before it becomes an Act of parliament. The House of Representatives passed the bill in December 2023.

The bill which is expected to be signed into the law by the President, seeks to establish the commission to manage infrastructural development such as the construction and rehabilitation of roads, houses and other infrastructural damages in the South-eastern region.

The commission will also be empowered to tackle the ecological problems and any other related environmental or developmental challenges in the region. It would receive and manage funds from the allocation of the Federation Account to execute infrastructural projects in the South-east.