Senate Leader Muhammed Ali Ndume has said that the proposed North East Development Commission (NEDCOM) before the National Assembly will function in the same capacity as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) if passed and signed into law.
Ndume, who was amongst the 18 senators from the six northeast- states that presented the NEDCOM Bill on the floor of the Senate last year, said the Bill has passed it’s second reading.
He added that he believed that the proposed bill may be passed and signed into law before the end of this year’s first quarter.
Ndume, who hails from Borno State, which is the heartbeat of the Boko Haram insurgency, said the NEDCOM Bill was well intended for the development of the six states of the affected region.
The Borno federal lawmaker, who gave his insight on the proposed commission during an interview session with journalists in Maiduguri yesterday, said the would-be commission, when enacted , will swing into action in rebuilding the region so that the 2.2 million displaced Nigerians will
The lawmaker said the rebuilding of all the destroyed communities will be carried out under various Implementation and Monitoring Committees (IMMC) in the six affected states in the North East.
He said, “The NEDCOM Bill will be similar to that of the NNDC established by the Obasanjo administration in addressing the Niger Delta militancy in the South-South and South East geopolitical zones of this country.
“And once the Bill is passed and hopefully assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, massive reconstructions, rehabilitations and resettlements of the IDPs, in all the 45 camps, will commence in all the captured and recently reclaimed council areas in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states”.
He noted that Borno State, which was the worst affected of all the three states, will witness more presence of the NEDCOM even as he said all states are equally recognised in the composition of proposed commission.