The Senate, on Tuesday, October 21, endorsed a Bill aimed at protecting Nigeria’s border towns. The Bill seeks to promote development at the nation’s border communities in a bid to stop the rate of insurgency and trans-border crimes.
The bill, which was sponsored by Senator Olufemi Lanlehin and titled “a bill for an Act to amend the Border Communities Development Agency Act Cap, B10 laws of the Federation of Nigeria”, provides the framework and additional funding for the Border Communities Development Agency.
As mentioned in the bill, at least, 20 per cent of the nation’s Ecological Funds, would be devoted to tackle infrastructure decay and provide health facilities, schools and adequate security arrangements in all the affected communities. Also stated in the bill, the communities to benefit from the framework are in Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara states.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights, Senator Umaru Dahiru, who presented the report of the joint committee on the bill, said that the passage would ensure that the agency starts full operations in redeeming the nation’s border communities.
“The bill also seeks to strengthen our borders so as to reduce the porous nature of our territorial boundaries in order to check incessant incidences of security challenges as well as human trafficking in the border region,” Dahiru said.
WhatsApp us