North East Development Commission (NEDC) has begun distributing various Ramadan food and non-food items, including thousands of bags of rice, bags of sugar, cartons of spaghetti, cartons of vegetable oil, mats, and blankets, among others, to persons living with disabilities (PWDs), orphans, widows, and other vulnerable groups in the 27 local government areas of Borno State.
Presenting the items to the beneficiaries weekend in Maiduguri, the state coordinator of NEDC, Engr Mohammed Umar, said the gesture was a directive from the managing director of the commission, Dr Mohammed Alkali, that the palliatives be distributed to the downtrodden in the state in the spirit of the Ramadan.
He said the commission was able to conduct a needs assessment and identified the downtrodden in the communities who would benefit from the gesture because of Ramadan.
“What we did was to look at the downtrodden living in society. We did a very good assessment and came up with the beneficiaries.
Last year, what we did was to get a few beneficiaries, but this time around, we expanded the need assessment, and we got more beneficiaries.
“ We are touching various facets of society in a time like this. The state governments in the northeast benefited from this gesture to identify more vulnerable persons in their various communities. We donated about 7000 pieces of what we distribute today to the Borno State government. The distribution is going simultaneously in the remaining five states of the North-East, “ he said.
In appreciation on behalf of the beneficiaries, the chairman of the National Association of Persons Living With Disabilities (NAPWDs ) Borno State Chapter, Mohammed Abubakar, lauded NEDC for remembering them at such a time, adding that the gesture is a great support to them in this Ramadan.
Meanwhile, the North East Development Commission (NEDC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have agreed to strengthen their partnership in transforming the region through digital economy and industrialisation.
The UNDP’s Portfolio Adviser in Nigeria, Mr Innocent Ejolu made this known when he visited the managing director of NEDC, Mr Mohammed Alkali, in Maiduguri.
Ejolu, who led top senior officials, suggested the need for the commission to scale up its innovative strategy to a more integrated, portfolio-based approach that could address developmental challenges in the region.
The envoy also highlighted UNDP’s commitment to transitioning from such individual projects to an integrated, portfolio-based approach that could accelerate recovery efforts and enhance regional development initiatives.
Ejolu commended the federal government for creating the Ministry of Regional Development and described it as a strategic platform for advancing economic transformation.
Alkali thanked the UNDP for supporting the commission in implementing its master plan.
The managing director acknowledged UNDP’s contributions to legal aid assistance and strategic project funding.
Alkali said that the commission had already started the implementation strategies as contained in the Master plan.
The managing director, however, reassured the Commission’s commitment to working with UNDP and other development partners to advance the region’s economic recovery, poverty reduction, and infrastructure development.
