Business
Chaos in House Of Representatives over stepping down of South-East development commission bill
The House of Representatives was again thrown into a rowdy session on Thursday, forcing a hasty adjournment of proceedings.
The cause of the rowdiness was the rejection of a bill seeking to establish a South-East Development Commission.
The bill failed at the session, which was presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, after it had been debated.
A similar bill to establish the North-East Development Commission had since been passed by the National Assembly, awaiting the assent of President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, South-East lawmakers immediately protested the decision on the grounds that the House could have, at least, allowed the bill to pass the second reading for more views to be collated from Nigerians at a public hearing.
Tension had built up in the House since Wednesday when the bill was billed to be moved for second reading.
However, it was stepped down on Wednesday because the lead sponsor and Deputy Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Chukwuka Onyeama, was unavailable in the chambers.
He returned soon after the bill was stood down.
The bill was re-listed for Thursday (yesterday), but again, Onyeama was unavailable just as the bill was to be taken and it had to be stood down a second time in line with the rules of proceedings.
But South-East lawmakers began a loud protest, insisting that the bill must be taken.
In the midst of the rowdiness, Onyeama reappeared in the chambers, just like he did on Wednesday after the bill had been stood down.
Dogara had to bend backwards to approve a motion for the rescission of the earlier ruling stepping down the bill.
The speaker said, “Let me clarify that it was not as if the bill was stopped. The sponsor of the bill was not around and we followed the rules to step it down.
“Now that he is here, we will take it. Nobody will shut out anybody because we don’t have the right to do that.”
Dogara calmed frayed nerves and opened debate on the bill.
Onyeama, while leading the debate, said the South-East geopolitical zone needed the commission to develop collapsed infrastructure and the damage suffered by the zone as a result of the Nigerian Civil War.
“The war led to massive destruction of critical infrastructure in the region, including roads, houses and environmental degradation,” he said.
Onyeama added that the region was worst-hit by erosion and other ecological problems.
The lawmaker stated that the commission would be funded from seven sources.
The first is through “15 per cent” of the total monthly statutory allocations due to member states of the commission from the Federation Account.
The second source, he explained, would be from “three per cent” of the total budget of any oil-producing company operating onshore and offshore in the South-East states, including gas processing companies.
The third source is from “three per cent” of the total annual budget of any solid mineral extracting or mining company operating in the South-East.
The fourth source will come through “50 per cent” of money due to member states of the commission from the Ecological Fund.
Five to seven of the funding sources are ”Such monies as may, from time to time, be granted or lent to or be deposited with the commission by the Federal Government or a state government, any other body or institution, whether local or foreign.
“All monies raised for the purpose of the commission by way of gifts, loans, grants-in-aid, testamentary disposition or otherwise.
“Proceeds from all other assets that may, from time to time, accrue to the commission.”
All South-East members, who spoke, including Mr. Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, Mr. Henry Nwawuba and Mr. Toby Okechukwu, said they gave “100 per cent” backing to the bill.
For instance, Nkem-Abonta argued that he believed the bill was the solution to the renewed agitation for the Republic of Biafra.
“We have to stop the crisis that is building up in the South-East before it turns into something else,” he said.
Members from the South-South, led by the Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, also supported the bill.
“Every zone deserves a commission because this country needs to be restructured. We cannot continue this way,” Ogor told the House.
Mr. Kehinde Agboola, who spoke for the South-West, said, “History will not forgive us if today we fail to support this bill.”
However, trouble started when all the lawmakers from the North spoke against the bill.
Members from North-West, North-East and North-Central, all opposed the bill.
For example, Mr. Mohammed Sani-Abdu opposed the bill on the grounds that it was a move to “divide Nigeria in piecemeal.”
He observed that coming soon after the government was trying to address the devastation caused by Boko Haram in the North-East, the timing of the bill was wrong.
Sani-Abdu recalled that after the civil war ended in 1970, government made concerted efforts to rebuild the South-East and re-integrate the people into the rest of Nigeria.
He argued that funding of the commission, using “three per cent” of the annual budget of oil companies operating in the South-East was indirect funding by the Federal Government.
Another member from the North, Mr. Karimi Sunday, said some South-East states were already benefiting from the funding of the Niger Delta Development Commission by the oil companies.
“Are we going to ask the same oil companies to fund the South-East Development Commission again?
“Are we saying that every zone should come up with its own development commission?” he asked.
When Dogara put the bill to a voice vote, he ruled in favour of those rejecting the commission. For clarity purpose, he called the votes twice before bringing down his gavel.
But South-East lawmakers began another round of protests as Dogara handed over proceedings to the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yussuff Lasun, and left the chambers.
Lasun quickly adjourned the House as the rowdiness worsened.
Outside the chambers, South-East lawmakers continued the protest.
Onyeama threatened that he would resign his position as a leader of the House.
“I am a leader in this House; you can’t just kill my bill like that. I will resign,” he fumed.
Another member from Abia State, Mrs. Nkiruka Onyejeocha, said her colleagues were not happy that the bill was rejected.
“At least, they could have passed it for second reading.
“At the committee stage, more work could have been done on it to remove the grey areas,” she said.
One member from Rivers State, Boma Goodhead, joined in the protest, saying the North was not fair to the South-East.
“They are using our oil money to address the issue of Boko Haram. Now, they are against this bill. It is not fair,” she shouted and walked away angrily.
South-East, victim of orchestrated political, economic marginalisation –Ohanaeze
In its reaction, the apex socio-political body of the Igbo, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said the South-East was the victim of an “orchestrated” political and economic marginalisation.
The Deputy Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mr. Chuks Ibegbu, who spoke with one of our correspondents on Thursday, said the rejection of the bill was “tragic, unfair and ‘unfortunate.”
Ibegbu said the bill, if passed into law, would have helped to address the longstanding marginalisation of the South-East.
He added that the development highlighted the flaws in the country’s federalism.
“The South-East is the victim of a well orchestrated political and economic marginalisation; these things do not happen by accident, they are planned and the plan is being carried out.
“The development highlights the tragedy of our federalism, a federalism that is filled with injustice, a federalism that emasculates the will of the people.
“At this stage in Nigeria’s history, nobody should be in doubt that the South-East needs federal attention.”
Ibegbu added, “The South-East has five states and 95 local governments but the North-East has seven states and about 200 local government councils. How fair is that?
“As we speak, the Federal Government has deployed national resources to attend to self-inflicted problems the North-East brought on itself through the Boko Haram insurgency. Before now an amnesty programme was initiated for the Niger Delta, and South-East youths, who were supposed to be captured in the programme, were not included.
“It is tragic that the House rejected the bill; it is unfortunate and very unfair on the people of the South-East.”
Business
Festus Keyamo has proven that he is a true son of Delta State through Warri Airport – Igosave
The Nigerian Passport Rip-Off: A Symbol of National Disgrace and Diaspora Exploitation
By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com
When former Rivers State Governor and Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, openly admitted that the Nigerian passport is “almost worthless abroad,” he wasn’t exaggerating. In fact, his words captured the daily humiliation faced by millions of Nigerians across the globe. Despite the glaring decline in its global value, the Nigerian passport remains one of the most expensive in the world. This contradiction (PAYING A PREMIUM PRICE FOR A DOCUMENT THAT INVITES SUSPICION AND REJECTION AT BORDERS) is not just illogical; it’s criminal.
Today, in 2025, Nigerians in the diaspora are being bled dry under the pretext of acquiring basic identity documents. The National Identity Number (NIN), originally meant to be a free or affordable civic right, has become a commercial racket. It now costs as high as R1,250 (about ₦110,000) even for a six-year-old child in obtaining a NIN in South Africa. This isn’t just unethical, it’s extortion.
This is a business for someone at others’ pains,” lamented Rika Augusta, a frustrated Nigerian mother in South Africa whose six-year-old daughter was forced to pay the full amount just to be recognised as Nigerian.
For a country ranked 131st out of 139 countries on the Henley Passport Index in terms of travel freedom, the price Nigerians pay for this underperforming passport is nothing short of madness. According to the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the “enhanced e-passport” costs between ₦400,000 to ₦600,000, excluding service charges imposed by third-party agencies such as OIS and other consular fees. These costs triple when processed from abroad.
Benjy Oloye, a Nigerian in South Africa, echoes the frustration of many:
“I captured in January. Since then, it’s been one story after another. Till today, nothing. Is this a passport or a miracle
we’re praying for?”
The bottlenecks and delays are not merely bureaucratic hiccups;
they are deliberate schemes. The outsourcing of biometric capture and passport
issuance to third-party companies like Online Integrated Services (OIS) has become a well-oiled machine of financial exploitation. Nigerians are forced to pay additional “admin” and “service” fees that are neither regulated nor justified.
“OIS service fee: R100.
Consulate admin fee:
R350.
This is an organised
scam,” revealed Bennie, another Nigerian in
South Africa who has meticulously documented every extra cost.
One wonders: How did we get here?
The Politics of Pain and Profit
The answer is simple; GREED. The Nigerian system is deeply infested with a culture of monetising misery. From driver’s licenses to passports and now even the NIN, everything has become a money-making scheme for a few elites at the expense of 220 million Nigerians.
Pastor Israel Angel White, based in Pretoria, aptly described the situation:
“Some guys are making money out of this, no doubt. Greed is in their DNA. It’s awful.”
This systemic extortion is especially cruel for those in the diaspora who have already endured the trauma of leaving their homeland in search of better opportunities. They contribute over $25 billion annually in remittances, yet they are treated as nothing more than ATM machines by the Nigerian government.
“The Nigerian government sees those of us in the diaspora as nothing more than a cash cow,” says a Nigerian professional in Cape Town. “We’re paying premium prices for substandard services and being told to smile while doing it.”
Data Don’t Lie
Let’s take a moment to compare:
United States Passport: $165 (~₦250,000) with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to over 180 countries.
United Kingdom Passport: £82.50 (~₦130,000) with 190+ countries accessible.
Nigerian Passport: ₦400,000+ with access to barely 46 countries visa-free, mostly in West Africa.
So why does the Nigerian passport cost more than world-leading passports? Why does a six-year-old child have to pay same as an adult to get a NIN? The answer lies not in logistics or technology, but in intentional extortion.
A Culture of Silence and Endurance
What’s perhaps more disturbing is how this exploitation has been normalised. Nigerians, whether at home or abroad, have become so accustomed to pain and systemic failure that they rarely push back.
“We can’t afford it; it’s a lot of money. But one thing about being Nigerian is that we’ve mastered the art of adapting, even to pain,” said one diaspora student in Durban. “We’ve normalized struggle so much that we don’t even question it anymore.”
But enough is enough. There must be a call for mass mobilisation. Nigerians in the diaspora are more than 17 million strong and their voices can no longer be silenced. Imagine if each of them sent an email or letter demanding reform, that kind of pressure is impossible to ignore.
The Diaspora Must Lead the Charge
The diaspora cannot remain passive observers. We must become vocal actors. Through organised action ie: letters, petitions, lobbying international media and using legal mechanisms in host countries, yes we can expose and dismantle this daylight robbery.
We must ask:
Why is there no price differentiation for children and economically disadvantaged citizens?
Why are there no audit reports on the revenue generated from these services?
Why are third-party companies allowed to fleece Nigerians without regulatory oversight?
Why is the Nigerian passport not getting global upgrade despite its inflated cost?
If answers are not provided, then accountability must be demanded.
A National Shame
This entire mess speaks to the deeper rot in Nigeria’s governance system. A government that cannot deliver something as basic as a passport or identity card is one that has failed fundamentally. It is a betrayal of trust, an insult to every citizen who dreams of a better life under the green-white-green flag.
When identity becomes a luxury, then nationality becomes a prison.
This is not just about passports and NIN. It’s about the dignity of Nigerians. It’s about fighting a system that sees its own people as prey. It’s about saying “No more!” to those who profit from our pain.
Final Thoughts: Nigeria, We Hail Thee?
Indeed, “Nigeria we hail thee” not in reverence, but in disbelief. For how long shall citizens continue to bleed for basic rights? For how long shall diaspora Nigerians, the backbone of our economic survival, be treated as expendable wallets?
The time to act is now.
As long as we remain silent, they will continue to inflate our costs, delay our documents, insult our intelligence and trample on our dignity.
The Nigerian passport saga is not just a national embarrassment, it is a scandal, a theft and a crime against citizenship.
George Omagbemi Sylvester
Political Analyst, Diaspora Advocate and Contributor to SaharaWeeklyNG.com
-
society3 months agoRamadan Relief: Matawalle Distributes Over ₦1 Billion to Support 2.5 Million Zamfara Residents
-
Business6 months agoDangote Refinery, wonder of modern technology ― Japan Ambassador, business community
-
society6 months agoNAPS Presidential Aspirant Lauds Tinubu’s ₦3.5 Trillion Education Budget, Advocates for Polytechnic Investment
-
celebrity radar - gossips5 months agoAlbums Reviews : Saheed Osupa’s Latest Release : A 2-in-1 Musical Experience
You must be logged in to post a comment Login