There was a heated argument in the Senate yesterday over the source of funding for the Zonal Development Commissions created by the Acts of the National Assembly.
The body also expunged some provisions in Section 23 of their establishment bills, which initially conferred operational immunity on the board and executives of the commissions.
Parallel arguments on approval of sources of funding recommended for the commissions among Senators arose during clause-by-clause consideration of the South South Development Commission Establishment Bill 2024.
The bill was used as an operational and structural template for the other five zonal development commissions. The Committee on Special Duties in its report recommended that 15 per cent of statutory allocations of member states in a commission be used to fund the commission by the Federal Government.
