Posted by Senator Barau I. Jibrin, the Vice President of the Senate, has had his bill to create the North West Development Commission (NWDC) pass its first reading in the Senate.
During Tuesday’s plenary session, presided over by Senate President Senator Godswill Akpabio, the “North West Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2023” was introduced and given its first reading.
During the Senate’s formal session, the bill’s brief title was read by Barrister Chinedu Akubueze, the chamber’s clerk.
The North West geopolitical zone includes seven states: Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, and Zamfara. When the Commission is finally established, it will speed up the development of the commercial and industrial potentials of this region, according to a statement released by Ismail Mudashir, Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate (Media & Publicity).
In addition, the NWDC, once constituted, will take in and oversee funding for the North West geopolitical zone’s agricultural and industrial growth.
Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara, along with the other states in the North West geopolitical zone, have been struggling with security issues for the past decade.
When it is finally set up, the Commission will be responsible for developing North West policies and recommendations in the following areas: transportation, education, health, employment, industrialization, agriculture, housing and urban development, water supply, energy, and business.
The bill would be scheduled for a second reading, where its merits and underlying ideas would be discussed.