The Federal Government has brought to the table beneficial ways of transforming and developing the country at regional levels. With this new development, where the Federal Government could not reach in terms of (a) Infrastructure (b) Health care (c) Empowerment schemes (d) Agricultural development (e) Management of environmental resources and (f) social welfare, the regional commissions will attend to them because they are more like the inner eyes of the Federal Government at the regional level.
The creation of the South East Development Commission (SEDC) and the South West Development Commission (SWDC) recently passed by the Senate is a good development by the federal government as it would enhance the economy of the regions. The states in SEDC are Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo, while the states in SWDC are Ekiti, Lagos, Ondo, Osun, Ogun and Oyo.
We also have the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) which was created also to enhance the economy of the states affected by oil extraction activities. Niger Delta is not a geo-political zone as it encompasses the states with oil in Nigeria and these states are Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross-River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Bayelsa, Ondo and Abia.
Now, with the creation of SEDC and SWDC, what will be the fate of the NDDC? Recall that there are three (3) states in NDDC which falls in SEDC and SWDC and the remaining six (6) states makes up the South-South region of the country.
Should NDDC be scraped and South-South Development Commission (SSDC) be created or should it remain while the federal government still creates SSDC?
Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South) once proposed a Bill in 2024 for the establishment of South-South Development Commission but was stepped down from further consultation by the Senate with claims of NDDC existence which covers most of the functions of the proposed SSDC.
Senator Ekpenyong in his argument said that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), is being mistaken to be a single geopolitical development Commission, but it is rather a resource-based Commission that cuts across three geopolitical zones; South West, South South and South East.
It will be good if Senator Ekpenyong’s proposal be granted because of the states that falls in the SWDC and SEDC and are still in the NDDC, those states cannot be removed from their geo-political zones or from NDDC.
The creation of South East Development Commission (SEDC) and South West Development Commission (SWDC) will have a negative impact on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and here are my reasons;
a. It will affect NDDC’s budget although the Commission has never received a complete budget since it’s inception but even with that, the funding will reduce in order for other Commissions to be funded.
b. With the reduction in budget, the development schemes of the NDDC will reduce as they will not be able to achieve as much as they have been doing on yearly basis as it is written “To whom much is given, much is expected”, in the other way “whom less is given, same is expected”.
But there could be positive impact if South-South Development Commission (SSDC) is also created because it will support NDDC to have more sustainable and focused projects.
Offiong, an entrepreneur, writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State
