Funding Provisions: Senate Amends Regional Devt Commission, NYSC Trust Fund Acts

•Red chamber removes special funds provisions to comply with constitution

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate yesterday amended the Acts recently passed by the National Assembly which established regional development commissions for the country.

The red chamber in a separate bill to amend the Act, removed the provisions which created special funds where regional development commissions’ monies will be paid into.

The upper chamber was convinced that the provisions conflicted with Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.

The nation’s law book already recognises the Federation Account as the sole account where all revenues generated by the federation would be paid into.

Similarly, the Senate with another bill, amended the National Youth Service Corps Trust Fund Act at its plenary on Wednesday, presided over by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

The amendments were carried out to bring the laws of the commissions and that of the NYSC Trust Fund, in compliance with the constitution.

The Senate amended clauses 14 and 15 of the acts establishing the North-West Development Commission; South-West Development Commission; and the South-East Development Commission.

Similarly, clause 4 (1) of the 2025 National Youth Service Corps Trust Fund Establishment Bill was amended to remove the trust fund.

The regional development commissions, by the Senate action, will not operate a fund separate from the Federation Account.

Rather, the CRF shall now retain the 15% deductions from the allocations of the states served by the commissions and other sources for their operations.

Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, had introduced the matter under a motion entitled “Re-committal of Bills to the Committee of the Whole” for consideration.

He recalled that though the National Assembly had earlier passed the bills and forwarded them for the assent of President Bola Tinubu, the Senate later realised that the funding clauses were in conflict with the constitution.

Bamidele said: “The Senate observed that the funding clauses for the commissions and the proposed fund to be established as provided in the bills appeared to contradict section 162 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

“Section 1, subsections (1) and 3 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, provides that the constitution is supreme and any law that contradicts the constitution shall be null and void to the extent of the contradiction.

“Mindful that Senate should not work in vain and should be seen to be observing the constitution like any other authority and persons in Nigeria, relied on orders 1(b) and 52(6) of its standing order 2023 as amended to rescind its decisions on the affected clauses of the development commissions bills, NYSC Trust Fund Bill.

“This resulted in the re-committal of the bills to Committee of the Whole for reconsideration and passage.

“Section 162 (1) of the constitution provides thus: The Federation shall maintain a special account to be called ‘the Federation Account’ into which shall be paid all revenues collected by the Government of the Federation.

“Exemptions are the proceeds from the personal income tax of the personnel of the armed forces of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force, the Ministry or department of government charged with responsibility for Foreign Affairs and the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”

The amended bills were all passed for third reading on Wednesday to bring the funding of the commissions in compliance with the constitution.

Speaking after the bills had been passed, Akpabio commended senators for working on them expeditiously for national development.