Civil Liberties Parliamentary Advocacy Centre ,CLPAC a non-governmental legislative and civil society advocacy organisation has stated that it is erroneous to ascribe the recently signed South East Development Commission (SEDC) Bill to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu.
Giving a historical genesis of the SEDC , the organisation through a press statement issued on Thursday by its publicity secretary Arc. Sixtus Udemba in Abuja informed that the SEDC Bill was conceived in the 8th Senate by Senator Stella Oduah ( Anambra North ) and merged with a similar Bill sponsored by Senator Samuel Anyanwu (Imo East ) when it was introduced to the floor of the Red Chambers on June 22 2016.
He clarified that as at 2016 of the 8th Assembly when the Bill was initiated, Hon Benjamin Kalu was not holding any political office not until June 2019 when he resumed as an elected member of the House of Representatives.
Making references to the archives of Order paper Nigeria, the Senate’s Order Paper 2016 (SB. 303) and Newspapers publications of June 17, 2017 Sixtus pointed out that the Bill was first read on the floor of the 8th Senate led by former Senate President Bukola Saraki on Wednesday, 22nd June 2016 and scaled the second reading on the 7th June 2017.
It read; “On December 12, 2018 the Senate passed the Bill and one week to the expiration of the 8th Assembly the House of Representatives on 28th May 2019, passed the Bill.
“At the level of the 8th House of Representatives the same bill was sponsored by former Deputy Minority Leader Hon.Chukwuma Onyema (Anambra,Ogbaru).
The statement noted that after much debate by members, the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lassun (APC-Osun) who presided over the day’s plenary, put the matter to vote and the majority voted in favour of the bill.
Urging the General Public, 10th National Assembly and the Media not to distort history, the organisation noted that it is pertinent to set the records straight by giving credit to Stella Oduah who conceived the Bill, reintroduced and championed its passage in the 9th Assembly with the support of other Senators but was not assented into law by former President Mohammadu Buhari.
Sixtus emphasised that the input of the Deputy Speaker was as a result of his status being Most ranked Reps Member from the Southeast and was thus named as the Bill’s sponsor when it was reintroduced in the 10th Assembly as a matter of privilege and respect.
He noted that though CLPAC acknowledges Hon Benjamin Kalu’s contributions it will however be a grave error to solely arrogate the Bill’s establishment and advocacy to the Deputy Speaker.
He urged Deputy Speaker’s loyalists not to thwart the course of history but give respective accolades not only to Ben Kalu but to President Tinubu, its Pioneer Stella Oduah, Samuel Anyanwu and other Lawmakers who played significant roles.
According to Sixtus it is a common practice for Lawmakers to reintroduce Bills which were passed but failed to receive presidential assent.
He explained further; “It would be wrong to give entire credit to a Lawmaker who reintroduced a bill rather than the original sponsor, an example is the already passed Nigerian Peace Corps Bill pending before the President”.
“The creation of the SEDC was a promise made by President Tinubu during his Presidential campaign in 2023 , when he paid a courtesy visit to the then Enugu state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and a brief meeting was held at the government house”.
“The Governor raised the issue of marginalization of the Southeast and President Tinubu pledged to set up a Development Commission if he is eventually elected into office”.
“It appears as if Hon Benjamin Kalu is in contest with taking the Glory of President Tinubu’s achievements whose administration have realised the establishment of SEDC and similar commissions such as the North West Development Commission (NWDC)”.
He maintained that the success of the bill is Fulfillment of President Tinubu’s campaign Promise to establish a commission to develop the South-East as well as the collective efforts of not only Lawmakers from the Southeast but other Parliamentarians from other Geo Political zones starting from the 8th, 9th and 10th Assemblies.
Sixtus added that the now signed SEDC Bill Sixtus had already received all necessary legislative inputs by the members of upper and lower chambers of the 9th Assembly and was assiduously passed by the Senate presided by the then Senate President Ahmad Lawan.
The statement read partly; “It is imperative to orient Nigerians that this was not the Brainchild of Benjamin Kalu contrary to what he has been telling South easterners and Nigerians at large.
“As a Legislative , Civil Society and Policy Advocacy organisation we owe it a duty to set the records straight that realisation of the SEDC was through the cooperation of the entire members of the National Assembly. It was not just Lawmakers of the South East caucus but other Lawmakers and the most Credit should be given to President Tinubu and of course Senator Stella Oduah for initiating the Bill as well as Senator Samuel Anyanwu for championing its course”.
Recall that the bill, was co-sponsored by the then Chairman, Senate Committee Cooperation and Integration, Stella Oduah (PDP, Anambra North) and her counterpart in Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions Committee, Samuel Anyanwu (PDP, Imo East), it passed through First Reading in June 2017 and scaled through Second Reading the following month.
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