The federal government has pledged to fast-track the restoration of infrastructure destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast, aiming to achieve the region’s recovery efforts through special intervention by the North East Development Commission ( NEDC ).
The federal government also promised quick completion of all ongoing projects of the NEDC in Borno and other parts of the northeast and reiterated the government’s prioritisation of education in the northeast to curtail the menace of out-of-school syndrome towards the elimination of the root causes of insurgency.
The minister of state for Regional Development, Mr Uba Maigari Ahmodu said this yesterday during his second day of inspection of projects executed by the NEDC, as well as those undergoing execution in Maiduguri.
Ahmodu who visited Command Secondary School Auno where the NEDC is sponsoring 400 orphans on scholarship with feeding and accommodation, directed the commission to immediately provide all the necessary facilities required for the smooth running of the school.
He also inspected completed road networks as well as those undergoing reconstruction at Jere , known as Jere bowl , of which the NEDC is constructing to make farming route accessible to the farming communities in Jere and metropolitan council areas of the state.
At the Faculty of Engineering being constructed by the NEDC in the former Borno State University now Kashim Ibrahim University, the minister promised speedy completion of the project and urged the management of the institution to also attract donors to meet up with some of the challenges of the institution.
He was also at the DSS quarters, which the commission is constructing for the security agency, and the 1000 housing units in the Ngwom area of Maiduguri, which are part of the 10,000 housing units constructed by the NEDC for thousands of citizens displaced by Boko Haram in Borno.
Meanwhile, during his first day of tour of NEDC interventions in the State, the minister paid a courtesy call to Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State. He noted that the state had a special place in his ministry’s and NEDC’s developmental agenda, saying that the ministry was very happy with the partnership between the state and NEDC.
“We intend to intensify collaborations to fast-track ongoing projects, initiate new interventions where necessary and work with stakeholders to make Borno State a model.
“Our visit today is a demonstration of President Bola Tinubu’s priority and his administration’s commitment to working in synergy with the state government to accelerate development, restore livelihood and strengthen peace-building efforts.
“Through the NEDC, we are implementing key interventions in infrastructure, education, healthcare and economic empowerment to support the rebuilding process,” Ahmodu said.
Responding, Zulum, who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Usman Kadafur, expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu’s administration for having the thought to create a ministry whose mandate focused on regional development.
“As a state, we will continue to work with the federal government on humanitarian interventions on facilities destroyed by the Boko Haram terrorists.
Everyone knew that there had been a lot of destruction of lives and property by the Boko Haram terrorists in the state and region, but with the intervention of NEDC, communities are returning back home and the people are recuperating,” the governor said.
At the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), the vice chancellor, Prof. Mohammed Mele, expressed appreciation to the federal government for building a Centre for Studying Violent Extremism for the institution through NEDC.
Mele said that the centre which had been put to use since was very crucial for counterterrorism and peace development studies.
The vice chancellor also appealed to the minister to help the university to furnish an edifice under the Centre which was also built for the institution by the Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) but has not been furnished.
However, the minister directed the managing director of NEDC, Mohammed Alkali to go ahead and do the needful as requested by the vice chancellor, saying both NEDC and TETFUND were federal government agencies, as such any of them could provide the needed support to the university.
At the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital ( UMTH ), Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), took the minister round to showcase some of the interventions the hospital benefited from NEDC.
The CMD, who explained how the Sept. 10, 2024 flood disaster destroyed equipment and other facilities at the hospital, put the value of the damages at more than N13.2 billion.
Ahidjo urged the minister to come to their aid to help them in the area of equipment recovery to enable them to restore the services being rendered by the hospital to the teeming population of the Northeast as a reference centre with more than 150 medical professors.
In all the places visited, the minister said, “We will go back and put heads together, and for those we can handle immediately, we will surely do that, but for those we cannot handle, we will refer them to Presidency for special intervention.”
Ahmodu also visited the Maternal Child Care unit at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric, Eye, and Dental Hospital in Maiduguri, which is currently undergoing reconstruction through NEDC’s intervention.
He also visited the Central Medical Store (Pharma Grade), which was built by NEDC for the storage of the state medical consumables, and the NEDC state office in Borno under construction, among others.
