The North East Development Commission (NEDC) established by the immediate past administration to rebuild states in the North-East following over a decade Boko Haram insurgency, has been doing much to rebuild structures destroyed by the terrorists in states across the region.
Apart from the rebuilding, the Commission is also intervening in the states’ health sector including federal government owned hospitals.
The Commission through its various intervention projects in Borno state, the epicentre of the Boko Haram crisis, has lifted thousands of people out of poverty through empowerment programmes with various skills acquisition training for the teeming youths who were ordinarily before the establishment of the Commission, willing tools to the terrorists.
In Borno state, some hospitals like the Umaru Shehu ultramodern hospital, state specialist hospital , Dental and Eye hospitals in the state, including the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) , Federal Neuropsychiatric hospital and 7 division hospital are all beneficiaries of the intervention on equipment and other facilities required for smooth attendance to healthcare issues in the state.
Just recently, NEDC in a bid to ensure that in addition to other health issues, the eye and dental care of the citizens are taken care of, rehabilitated and equipped the state’s dental and eye hospitals to bring the two health facilities in the state to a standard.
Interestingly, the Commission has been sustaining its interventions in different areas. As part of effort to ensure safety and comfort of security personnel in Borno, the Commission has embarked on the construction of Police stations and barracks for senior officers and men of the Nigerian police in Konduga and Bama local government areas.
The Commission equally embarked on the reconstruction and upgrading of Government Secondary School Biu, and construction of one block of three classrooms at Moduganari primary school; Ngomari Gana primary school and Kaleri primary school respectively.
As should be expected, residents of the state have continued to applaud the Commission even as they appeal for sustainability of its interventions.
“We are impressed with what the Commission is doing and urge it to sustain the tempo so more and more communities and people will feel its impact” Modu Umar, a resident of Maiduguri metropolis, has said.
As a demonstration of its commitment to sustainability, the federal government constituted a new board and management team for the Commission following the expiration of the term of the last Mohammed Alkali led team and the Major Gen Paul Tarfa (rtd) led Board.
The Commission now has a new management team in place with an acting MD/CEO, Umar Abubakar Hashidu as the leader of the management team and working relentlessly towards the realisation of the Commission’s noble mandates while awaiting the appointment of a new board. This is crucial for the Commission’s continued efforts to rebuild and develop the North-East region.
Thus as the newly appointed acting MD/CEO, Umar Abubakar Hashidu with the support of three Executive Directors is consolidating on the achievements of the former Board and management of the commission through completion of projects under execution, new projects that would touch the lives of the people are on the as well being executed.
Hashidu who is optimistic that a new board would soon be in place to consolidate the drive towards ensuring genuine recovery from the ravages of Boko Haram in the North-East, assured that the current team under his leadership would not shirk away from its responsibilities of contributing to the realisation of the Commission’s mandates. He also assured that efforts will be made to sustain the plausible programmes and policies already in place while building on new ones.
While praising the National Assembly and governors of the North-East states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe,Taraba and Yobe, for their unwavering support of the commission, Hashidu promised that the leadership of the Commission will do all it takes to meet expectations of the region and its people.
Already, the acting management team has set the ball rolling and recently, to avert perennial disaster caused by massive water from Aloe Dam in Konduga local government area of Borno State, the North East Development Commission ( NEDC) has moved to fortify the Dam with excess water protection mechanism before the upcoming rainy season.
The move was announced by Hashidu when he led a team to the Dam following a request from the Chad Basin Development Authority on the Commission to intervene against excess water from the Dam, which usually destroys irrigation facilities and structures in the community around the Aloe Dam during the rainy season.
He noted that the importance of the Alau Dam cannot be overemphasised, saying that the water provides a lot of irrigation activities for food and other things, hence the NEDC is intervening to ensure that the Dam is fortified with enough flood preventive measures before the coming of the rainy season to avert the disaster that occurred last year, when the Dam overflowed and destroyed irrigation facilities and structures around the community.
Hashidu said that most of the NEDC projects revolve around water , sanitation, medical and the things that are internal to the organisation, which are critical areas that touch the lives of the people, saying that these are areas the commission’s interventions are greatly needed.
At the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) where the Commission is constructing 40 Labour rooms extension with IVF centres to decongest the over stretched maternity ward, Dr . Hashidu expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done which is almost at completion stage.
He also visited the state office of the NEDC at the post- office area of Maiduguri ,which is undergoing remodelling and renovation where he inspected the various apartments which includes offices, training centre, clinic, mosque among others before proceeding to Borno State University ( BOSU ) , where he inspected the ongoing construction of Faculty of Engineering which will cover department of civil engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering.
He noted that NEDC, understanding the importance of science and technology in the global economy, also prioritises science education so that citizens of the North-East can key into the growing market of technology that has become the modern trend.
He estimated both the 40 room Labour ward extension at the UMTH; the State office of the NEDC undergoing remodelling and renovation as well as the faculty of engineering at the Borno State University to be worth over N1.6 billion, adding that the price might change considering fluctuations of the economy.
As Nigerians await the appointment of a new board for the NEDC, it is gratifying to note that the acting MD and his small team in the Commission are doing what many described as impressive jobs of moving the Commission forward. It is gratifying to note that it has been work in progress as the team continues developmental strides in Borno and other parts of the North-East with victims of Boko Haram insurgency getting succour and healing from the trauma inflicted on them in the over 12 years crisis.
