The Senate yesterday passed the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) Bill into law, which empowers the federal government to set up an independent commission to fast-track the rehabilitation and development of the North-east region devastated by insurgency.
The Senate however widened the commission’s area of coverage by including Kano and Plateau states on the list of states to benefit from its operations and activities alongside Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, and Taraba states.
The decision followed an amendment put forward by Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano Central) during the clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill, that given the fact that the two states were also hit by terrorist attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents, it was only proper that they are included as beneficiaries of the interventionist commission.
Recall that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) also has Abia and Ondo states, which are not located in the Niger Delta region as members of the commission.
The Senate also approved the allocation of 3 per cent of the country’s Value Added Tax (VAT) to NEDC for a period of 10 years even as the three senators representing Lagos State kicked against the approval of the 3 per cent VAT allocation to the commission, saying that their earlier request for 1 per cent VAT for Lagos was rejected by the same chamber.
The lawmakers also resolved the controversy surrounding the location of the headquarters of the commission by settling for the capital of Borno State, Maiduguri
