NEDC Trains Northeast Staff To Deepen Institutional Excellence

North East Development Commission (NEDC) has organised a three-day workshop for its staff members in six states of the region to deepen institutional excellence and move from standards to practice.

During the workshop tagged” 2026 Excellence Forum” in Maiduguri yesterday, the managing director of NEDC, Mohammed Goni Alkali, said the forum commenced with a renewed focus on strengthening the systems, people and processes that support the delivery of the commission’s mandate across the North-East.

He said the three-day event, which runs from from yesterday to tomorrow, brought together members of staff from the commission’s headquarters and state offices to examine how the principles of quality, accountability, integrity and improved service delivery can be better reflected in the commission’s work.

Alkali said the forum followed the NEDC’s certification to five International Organisation for Standardisation management system standards covering Quality Management, Environmental Management, Occupational Health and Safety, Anti-Bribery Management, and Sustainable Development in Communities.

“For the Commission, the focus is now on what comes after certification. The value of the standards will ultimately be determined by how they improve the Commission’s work and its service to the people of the North-East.

“For us, excellence must ultimately be measured by the quality of development we deliver to the people of the North-East. Our ISO certifications established important standards, but the real work is ensuring that those standards are reflected in how we work, how we serve and how we deliver,” Alkali said.

He added that the emphasis on moving from standards to practice is at the heart of the 2026 Excellence Forum, saying that, rather than focusing solely on presentations, participants will work through practical exercises, simulations, and real workplace situations to improve collaboration, problem-solving, and service delivery.

Alkali said the Commission recognises that delivering roads, schools, healthcare facilities, water, livelihoods and other interventions across the North-East also depends on the strength of the institution behind those interventions.

Continuing, he said, “Building capable people, improving internal systems and strengthening accountability are therefore an important part of the NEDC’s wider development mandate.

“Through the Excellence Forum, the Commission seeks to ensure that the standards it has adopted are not simply requirements for certification, but become part of how its people work and how the institution delivers.

“Ultimately, the aim is simple: a stronger NEDC that delivers better outcomes for the people of the North-East.”