Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed has noted with delight that the North East Development Commission (NEDC) is one of the good legacies President Muhammadu Buhari would leave behind next year when he eventually leaves office.
The Bauchi State governor explained that the commission is one of the best institutions created in order to deepen the institutionalisation of poverty reduction and disaster management initiatives.
Speaking when he received food and non-food items donated by the NEDC to Bauchi State Government for onward distribution to victims of flood and other disasters in the state, Governor Bala fortunately enough noted that the commission was created with competent pioneer staff.
He lauded the staff for doing their job in a manner that they would not be confronted with the problems and challenges of their sister organisations like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Governor Bala attributed the smooth functioning of the commission to the ways and manner by which it is discharging its interventionist responsibilities, as well as projects and programmes that is stabilising the Northeast sub-region bombarded by insurgency.
“Yes, we have been confronted by a monumental humanitarian crisis, but so far what you have been doing for us, we must confess has been salutary and we cannot have it better than this.
“I must really commend your level playing field attitude, your honesty and sincerity especially within the Northeastern states, looking at the challenges that we. What you brought is beyond our expectation.”
The governor said the state government has already sent a letter to the commission regarding the flood that devastated the state during the rainy season, and appreciated its commiserations and condolences over the lives lost.
“Properties were also lost; some of the local government areas were cut-off. You cannot go to Zaki LGA now, because one has to go through Jigawa or Kano. The washout was so monumental because of the water coming from the Dilimi and Jama’are rivers” Bala said.
He also attributed the flooding to the inability of the neighbouring state governments to provide water resource solutions to the amount of water coming around the area, describing it as very peculiar in terms of flooding.
Governor Bala appreciated what the commission is doing on the reconstruction of the Kirfi – Gombe Abba road, which is of very high interest to the Bauchi – Gombe border communities, and for getting the approval of the Federal Executive Council to undertake the project.
He said that with the establishment of a very robust emergency response headed by the deputy governor, Senator Baba Tela, the government is going to judiciously guard the food items brought to the state by the commission.
Earlier in a speech, the NEDC managing director, Mohammed G. Alkali, expressed the readiness of the commission to synergise with the Bauchi State and other state governments, in the Northeast region, on ways to contain the flood situation and provide measures to forestall future occurrence of such disaster.
Alkali said part of the commission’s efforts to cushion the impact of flood disaster on the citizens was the presentation of food and non-food materials. He said the commission was in Bauchi to commiserate with the government and people of the state, over the flood disaster that affected some parts of the state, and listed items donated to include : Rice, Blankets, Mats, Vegetable oil, Wrappers and Shedda Materials.
He gave a breakdown of the items thus: Children wears – 3, 000; Mats – 5000 pieces; Blanket – 5,000 pieces; Vegetable oil – 3, 000 gallons; Women wrappers 5, 000 and 10, 000 bags of Rice 25kg, all of which were handed over to the state government for onward distribution to the affected persons.
The NEDC Boss who lauded the state governor over the efforts made to contain the effects of flood in the state, said that the commission wrote a letter to the state government in order to synergise by providing preventive measures to address issues of flood disaster in the future.
“One of the reasons why we are here is that on the 18th of August in Maiduguri, the World Humanitarian Day was celebrated under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, and in that occasion, we as a commission promised that we are going to show our humanitarian face to the people of the Northeastern states and we promised to provide food and non-food items.
“The president received our pronouncement and handed it over to the vice chairman of a committee he set up, to settle and rehabilitate IDPs in the Northeast. The committee is currently dissolved, but we were directed to go and give those items we promised to each state.”
The NEDC boss also listed some of the commission’s interventions in Bauchi State to include the Kirfi – Gombe Abba road, as well as other critical efforts in strengthening education and health sectors.
“We have the housing project going on, we have in each of the tertiary institutions in education and health, either federal or state, projects going on. We want to discuss, articulate and come back here in the near future to do the ground-breaking ceremonies, as well as the foundation laying ceremonies for these projects,” Goni said.
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