WorldStage Newsonline– A bill, which seeks to create the Federal Capital Territory Satellite Towns Development Commission, has scaled second reading on the floor of the Senate.
Senator Aliyu Wadada representing Nasarawa West on the platform of the Social Democratic Party, who sponsored the bill, told his colleagues that it was an initiative aimed at addressing the growth and infrastructure needs of the FCT Satellite Towns
He said since the FCT is bounded by Nasarawa, Niger, Kaduna and Kogi as contiguous states, it was necessary to address the challenges being faced by the residents there.
Wadada noted that since its creation the FCT had continued to see tremendous growth as Nigeria’s Federal capital.
The rapid development of the nation’s capital, he added, came with a set of challenges, particularly to the satellite towns which are all forced to accommodate the Work force of the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the proposed commission would cater for satellite towns that are to be determined by a 60 kilometers distance into all the contiguous states of the FCT
Wadada said, “The FCT Satellite Towns Development Commission shall have the mandate to ameliorate the infrastructure deficits, manage urban sprawl, and promote sustainable development within the satellite towns.”
He argued that the FCT Satellite Towns Development Commission was set out for the rapid urbanization of the FCT which resulted in acute shortage of affordable housing and had continued to cause a mass movement of people to the Satellite towns.
The development, he said, was creating informal settlements and slums that had led to overcrowding, lack of basic amenities, and poor living conditions, which further exacerbated poverty within some of the towns in the contiguous states.
Arguing further on the need of the commission, Wadada said: “The migration of different ethnic groups into the Satellite towns has continually led to cultural clashes of different groups with divergent values and lifestyles and that sometimes lead to tensions, especially when chasing scarce resources or competing for land and employment.
“The widening economic gap between Abuja and its surrounding towns has led to social inequalities as those who have migrated into the satellite towns often face poor living conditions in informal settlements.
“This has resulted in high levels of crime, social unrest, and inequality, Cultural Homogenization.
“As people from different parts of Nigeria fldck to the Satellite Towns, the rich cultural diversity of the surrounding towns often gives way to a more homogenized nationa culture, causing the marginalization of local cultures.
“This bill, if passed, will ameliorate the infrastructure deficits, manage urban sprawl, promote sustainable development within the FCT satellite towns.”
According to Wadada, the Commission’s role will include the development of essential infrastructure, such as roads, drainage systems, health care services, education, social services and public utilities such as waste management.
“The establishment of an FCT Satellite Towns Commission will be a conscious effort towards spreading development to all nooks and crannies of our nation,” he added.
Senators in their various contributions supported the bill and contended that it would spread development to all the communities that border the FCT.
