Reps Pass Bill To Establish South West Dev’t Commission, Allocates N140bn As Budget

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the Bill for an Act to establish the South West Development Commission.

The commission will be charged with the responsibility to among others, receive and manage funds from allocation of the Federation Account, including donations and gifts for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructural damages suffered in the region.

Such funds would also be channeled into tackling the ecological, environmental and other developmental challenges in the region when the commission is established after presidential assent.

The bill was passed by the Senate in September 2024 and now with the concurrence in the House, the legislation will be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.

However, while that is yet to be done, the proposed commission is already allocated N140 billion in the 2025 budget signed by the President.

The president had assented to the North-West Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2024, and the South East Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2023 in July last year while he signed into law the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) earlier this year.

In the 2025 budget, the yet-to-be-established South West Development Commission get N140 billion; North East Development Commission is allocated N240.99 billion, North West Development Commission, N145.60 billion while the North Central, South East, South South and South West Development Commissions is allocated N140 billion each.