A bill seeking the establishment of the South West Development Commission ( SWDC) scaled first reading on the floor of the Senate on Thursday.
The bill was sponsored by the Senator Ibikunle Amosun, representing Ogun Central Senatorial District, in conjunction with all the South-West senators in the red chamber.
Senator Ibikunle Amosun later gave the rationale for the introduction of the bill while responding to questions from Senate correspondents in Abuja, saying “If a part of a whole is not well, then the whole will not be well,” he said.
Amosun added that “Clearly every part of Nigeria should feel concerned about the need to develop their place.
“If all of us develop our place, of course, we will have a beautiful country that everybody will be proud of.
“So to that extent, this is not just my Bill, it is being co-sponsored by all of us (senators) from the Southwest.
“If you look at even the population of Nigeria, just look at how many are we from the Southwest.
“I am saying this with all sense of responsibility, there is no part of Nigeria that is not important. All of us are.
“All Nigerians have something that they are bringing to the table, but of course, you will notice that there is no way the Nigerian nation can be described without some kind of prominent mention to those from the Southwest and what we contribute to Nigeria as a nation.
“Look at just the contribution of Lagos State to Nigeria as a nation. So I think there should be some kind of special status but not just for Lagos alone now.
“Of course, we are saying whatever happens in Lagos, happens in Ogun State. For me, Ogun State is the industrial hub of Nigeria.
“You know the population that we have and what we are contributing to Nigeria. There are some parts of Nigeria that we know – this is not probably by their doing – for example our people from the Northeast, there is no sane person that will not want to support the (North East Development Commission) particularly with the destruction that has happened there.
“We don’t want any place to be left behind. But in doing that we should not be oblivious of the fact that we need to continue to develop too and this is why we are bringing this Bill.”
Sen. Amosun said that the Bill was jointly agreed on by all senators from the Southwest.
“Indeed, we had a meeting and everyone agreed that it is a good Bill that must quickly be put in place and that was why this morning it was read for the first time.
“I know that we are going to more or less incorporate the Bill that Senator Gbenga Ashafa brought the other time, and I think it has even been represented now.
“But I know that anywhere in the Southwest, if it is good in Lagos, Ekiti or in Osun, I will be happy and I am sure that there is no way it will be good in those places that it will not be okay for us in Ogun State.
“This is not because similar agencies have been created in the Northeast or Southsouth, everybody should look out for how they can improve the well-being of our people,” he said.