A bill seeking to establish Federal Capital Territory Satellite Towns Development Commission scaled through second reading at the Senate on Wednesday.
The bill sponsored by Senator Aliyu Ahmed Wadada is aims at addressing the growth and infrastructure needs of the FCT satellite towns.
Wadada in his lead debate posited that FCT was bounded by Nasarawa, Niger, Kaduna and Kogi as contiguous States.
He further stated that while Abuja flourished as the nation’s political centre, neighbouring towns continue to face underdevelopment.
“Since its creation, the FCT has continued to see tremendous growth as Nigeria’s federal capital.
“This rapid development has, however, come with a set of challenges, particularly to the satellite towns which are all forced to accommodate the workforce of the FCT.
“While Abuja has become a hub for governmental, political and economic activities, the neighbouring towns to the FCT have continued to experience various challenges as they are all de-facto extensions of Abuja.
“They continue to suffer from inadequate infrastructure, limited public services due to overcrowding and ever-growing population influx.
“This is as their local economies struggle to compete with the wealth generated in Abuja thereby creating a stark economic divide”.
Wadada added that the rationale for the bill was to address housing deficits.
“The rapid urbanisation of the FCT which resulted in an acute shortage of affordable housing has continued to cause mass movement of people to the satellite towns thereby creating informal settlements and slums”.
The bill was supported by Senators Sani Musa (APC-Niger East), Ireti Kingibe (LP-FCT), and Yahaya Abdullahi (PDP – Kebbi North).
The Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who presided over plenary referred the bill to the Senate Committee on FCT for further legislative works.
