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Saraki issues deadline to Committee over North-East

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Senate President, Bukola Saraki has given the Joint Senate Committee on Special Duties, Establishment and Public Service up till May 25, 2016 to complete work on the North East Development Commission (NEDC) Bill and report back to plenary.

Saraki who gave the charge while declaring open a two-day public hearing on a “Bill for an Act to Establish the North East Development Commission” in Abuja, lamented that what had been witnessed in the North East demanded special attention from all well-meaning Nigerians and not just from government.

The lead Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Abdul-Aziz Murtala Nyako had in his opening address promised that the committee would work assiduously to ensure that the report on the bill is laid before the Senate and read for the third time on May, 25, 2016.

Following Senator Nyako’s remarks, Saraki said though time is running out, he would hold the committee to its promise to return the report on the Bill to plenary on May 25.

Saraki said it has become imperative to pass the Bill on time to permanently mitigate the precarious situation of those affected by insurgency in the North East.

Read also: Saraki worth over N4bn before becoming gov – EFCC witness

He said: “We must all rise up and say never again. We have seen families wiped out, children orphaned, incomes plunged below a tenth of what they were a decade ago. Families that have survived this onslaught have largely survived with little to live by and now rely directly on handouts for food rations, he said.

Saraki also lauded the efforts of members of the armed forces who through their gallant efforts have largely pushed back the insurgents from territories they hitherto occupied, preserved the territorial integrity of the nation and thus made rebuilding efforts easier.

On his part, the Chairman, Joint Senate Committee on the NEDC Bill, Senator Nyako said it is time Nigerians come to terms with the alarming fact that the North East zone is rapidly deteriorating as a result of the insurgency that began in 2009.

He said: “We often consider death as the most noticeable effect of this insurgency, but we need to look at our current situation holistically”.

The Committee took both oral and written submissions from most of the stakeholders who attended the public hearing.

 

 

 

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