July 29, (THEWILL) – With the addition of the North-West and South-East Development Commissions last week, the number of development commissions in the country has risen to four.
Before now, there was the Niger Delta Development Commission, NNDC and lately, the North-East Development Commission. There is a high possibility that the number will rise to five in the coming weeks since the Senate on April 4, 2024 passed the North Central Development Commission Bill.
Considering the proclivity of the ruling elite for political grandstanding, we are on safer grounds to project that sooner than later, a Southwest Development Commission will not be long in coming.
According to President Bola Tinubu, while giving assent to the North-West Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2024, and the South-East Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2023, the commissions will accelerate development across geo-political zones in the country.”
These commissions, the Federal Government said, are set up to facilitate the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses and business premises destroyed by multidimensional crises, as well as to tackle poverty, literacy level, ecological problems and any other related environmental or development challenges in coordinate states.
These social and economic challenges are, indeed, writ large in the landscape of the mentioned geo-political zones, just like others that have similar commissions and others that would probably get one in the future for obvious reasons of political interests.
The question to ask and which will continue to be asked is whether the performance of the existing ones justifies the setting up of others at a time of growing public clamour for a slim government and the creative management of increasingly scarce resources for integrative purposes.
What President Bola Tinubu said about the impact of the Calabar-Lagos Coastal Highway sounds better and more believable than what he said about the two new commissions.
According to the President, the over N2.8tr coastal highway represents a crucial step in the current government’s efforts to enhance connectivity, facilitate economic growth and improve the quality of life of our people. It will provide direct employment for millions of people across coastal states and over 30 million citizens will benefit and have access to production and marketing centres. This project is more than just a road; it is a symbol of hope, unity and prosperity.
“It will connect our communities in nine states, foster trade and commerce, and boost tourism and create new opportunities for generations to come,” Tinubu said.
Moreover, there is the issue of duplication. Oil-producing states of Imo and Abia, and Imo, two out of five states in the southeast making up the 9-member NNDC, would also be part of the new SEDC. Anambra is now an oil-producing state. This means that nothing will stops its enlistment as a member state in the NNDC.
This issue of duplication and its implication overhead was the reason for the heated debates in the public space and the 9th National Assembly that attended the creation of the North-East Development Commission as states like Plateau and Benue, which continued to bleed from violent conflict and inter-communal strife, similar to Boko-Haram inflicted violence on the North-East states, was considered qualified to be included in the latter commission.
Lastly, in cases of proven corruption, some arising from community petitions and protests against existing commissions, forcing interventions by anti-graft agencies and federal lawmakers for some form of sanity to prevail already exists in the public domain to warrant detailed analyses.
Suffice it to say that the previous administration had to authorise a forensic audit of the NNDC books and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, and House of Representatives had to wade into the N100 billion fund diversion allegation against the NEDC before both commissions could be held with some cautious respect by the beneficiary communities.
The Nigerian public is becoming wiser and more proactive than before. We, therefore, implore the authorities to be wary of development issues that trump public interests and reject or abandon projects that hold the likelihood of becoming white elephants in the long run.
