Charles Ogbonnaya congratulates Deputy Speaker Kalu on Senate passage of Southeast Development Commission Bill, calls for speedy Presidential assent

Former Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftancy Affairs in Abia State Chief Charles Ogbonnaya, has congratulated the Speaker of the House of Representative Rt. Hon. Ben Kalu on the passage of the South East development commission bill by the Senate as he describes the Deputy Speaker as worthy son of the soil.

The Senate, on Thursday, passed the Bill sponsored by Kalu which seeks the establishment of the South East Development Commission.

The commission is to be charged with the responsibility of receiving and managing funds from the Federation Account for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses, and other infrastructural damages suffered by the region as a result of the effects of the civil war.

The Red Chamber took the decision while considering the bill’s clauses at its Committee of the Whole, chaired by the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

Recall that the House of Representatives, on December 21, 2023, at its Committee of the Whole, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, unanimously passed it for a third reading and sent it to the Senate for concurrence.

Ogbonnaya who commended the Deputy Speaker’s passion and dedication to the growth and progress of the Southeast region said posterity will never forget him for his noble cause, noting that the bill when signed into law has the potential of bringing sustainable development to a region that was ravaged by the civil war and has also been suffered ecological problems.

The one time Commissioner for Trade and Investment in Abia urged President Bola Tinubu to give speedy assent to the bill which he said will assuage the long bottled up grievance of the people of the Southeast over non-inclusivity, marginalization and neglect adding that that will mean writing his name in gold as the Igbos would never forget and would remain grateful.