By Chiroma Ali Ibrahim
The Minister of State for Regional Development, Alhaji Uba Ahmadu, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s genuine commitment toward the development of the Northeast, which has been devastated by insurgent activities.
The Minister made this commitment during the inauguration and handing over ceremony of thirteen projects to the Borno State Government. These projects were executed by the North East Development Commission across Maiduguri and its surrounding local government areas.
Since its inception in 2017, the North East Development Commission has executed and inaugurated over seventy projects in Borno State, especially in the areas of educational infrastructure, health facilities, housing estates, provision of patrol vehicles to security agencies to enhance counter-insurgency operations, road construction, among others.
While unveiling the projects, the Minister of State for Regional Development, Alhaji Uba Ahmadu, restated the Federal Government’s determination to support long-term resilience efforts. He pointed out that the Ministry was created by the present administration to coordinate and drive inclusive development across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
He also reiterated that the establishment of the North East Development Commission was borne out of the need to rebuild and stabilize the region after years of insurgency, which led to the destruction of development projects across the area.
The inauguration and handover of the completed projects executed by the Commission align with the North East Stabilization and Development Plan and Borno State’s twenty-five-year Development Master Plan, which provides a long-term framework for social, infrastructural, and economic transformation.
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum commended the Minister and the Commission for their series of interventions across all sectors, stressing that most of the projects executed are people-oriented and will complement the efforts of his administration in meeting the yearnings and aspirations of the citizenry.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on NEDC, Hon. Usman Zannah, who also represents the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Special Duties that oversees the activities of the Commission, Senator Kaka Shehu Lawan, pledged to support the Ministry and Commission in addressing not only the infrastructural deficit but also the humanitarian challenges caused by over a decade of insurgency in the region.
Among the projects inaugurated and handed over are police formations, including stations and barracks in Konduga and Bama local government areas; educational and building materials; heavy-duty machines for roads and drainage construction; office equipment for the judiciary; medical stores; DSS command clinic and ambulance; ICT centre for the Agency for Mass Literacy; new male and female wards at the Dental and Eye Hospital Maiduguri; and multi-billion naira state-of-the-art hospital equipment.
The occasion was witnessed by the Chairman of the NEDC, Major General Paul Tarfa (Rtd), the Managing Director Mohammed Alkali, alongside members of the Commission and other dignitaries.
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