Group Urges President Tinubu to Release Funds for South South Development Commission 

Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa 

The South South Reawakening Group (SSRG) has called on President Bola Tinubu to release the budgetary provision appropriated in 2026 for the South South Development Commission (SSDC), which it described as “grossly inadequate”. 

The group in a statement in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, said there is a need to increase the budgeted amount. Insisting that a larger percentage of it should be released quickly for the commission to effectively get off the ground. 

The statement signed by its Convener, Joseph Ambakederimo, posited that the timely release of a substantial portion of the budgetary provisions to the management of the commission for project execution would go a long way in stabilising the commission in the future and also enable the region to begin to see remarkable improvements in infrastructure. 

“Therefore, we make this appeal to President Bola Tinubu to direct the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, to promptly release funds due to the South South Development Commission, which will invigorate the region’s economy.

“The South South Development Commission is led by a woman who can be described as an Amazon in her own right. If the agency is starved of funding, this could weaken the management’s ability to perform and inadvertently diminish her management prowess,” the statement read. 

The South South Development Commission was signed into law in March 2025 by President Bola Tinubu after the passage of the Bill in October 2024 by the NASS. 

However while the commission is yet to take off in the region, Ambakederimo believed that continued withholding of funds will be counterproductive in the long run.

While adding that life-impacting projects are to be prioritised, he said the  quick take-off of the commission will further drive industrial growth and promote economic development in the region. 

He said, “Numerous challenges exist, such as ecological and environmental issues, as well as those caused by resource extraction and industrial activity. 

“The commission is expected to formulate and execute people-centered development policies and transformative projects in key sectors: health, agriculture, education, transportation, industrialisation, social housing, water and sanitation, and most importantly, the provision of electricity and communication infrastructure.”