By Chiroma Ali Ibrahim
The Federal Government, through the North East Development Commission, has pledged continued support to ensure rapid infrastructural development of the states in the region.
The pioneer Minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, made this known during his three-day working visit to Borno State to assess the developmental projects executed by the North East Development Commission (NEDC) in the state.
Radio Nigeria correspondent reports that the Minister, in the company of the Managing Director, Mohammed Goni Alkali, along with some members of the Commission, took the Minister and his entourage to inspect the Commission’s projects in key areas, including education, health, agriculture, housing, and rural roads.
The inspection included a diverse range of projects aimed at improving infrastructure and services across various sectors. Key projects assessed include:
Several significant projects at the University of Maiduguri and its teaching hospital were inspected, including the Center for the Study of Countering Violent Extremism and the Burn Treatment Center.
Additionally, the team assessed the remodeled Maternity Center at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, ensuring its enhanced facilities meet the needs of the community.
The inspection also encompassed healthcare facilities beyond the university. The team visited the Maternity and Child Clinic at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Maiduguri.
Furthermore, the team reviewed the reconstructed and remodeled Borno Drug and Pharmaceuticals Store, a crucial component of the region’s healthcare infrastructure.
The commission is also supporting housing initiatives by procuring heavy and building materials for rebuilding homes for flood victims. Finally, the team assessed interventions at the State Dental and Eye Hospital in Maiduguri.
These interventions include the construction of a Dental Annex Theatre, the construction of male and female wards, the construction of a theatre complex at the Eye Hospital, and the construction of three-bedroom semi-detached two-story doctors’ quarters.
The Minister also visited Command Secondary School, Maiduguri, where 400 students orphaned by Boko Haram insurgents and sponsored by the Commission are currently studying.
During the visit, the Minister reassured the school of his ministry’s readiness to revitalize education in the state, which has suffered a serious setback due to the activities of insurgents. The minister , while inspecting some of the ongoing NEDC’s intervention projects at the Borno State University (BOSU), also assured his Ministry’s support to the institution.
He, however, encouraged the management of BOSU to seek for more funding through private donors and organisations in addressing the University’s infrastructure deficit.
The minister also inspected the ongoing construction of a 22.5km road in one of the state’s top rice-producing communities.
The 22.5km road project currently being constructed by NEDC falls under Phase I, covering Ngowom-Koshebe and Ngowom–Dusman–Zabarmari–Gongulong–Khaddarmari communities.
He said when completed, the new road is expected to stimulate economic activities, enhance security, and facilitate smooth movement of goods and services.
Upon arrival in the state, the Minister paid a courtesy call on the Borno State Deputy Governor, Hon. Umar Usman Kadafur, and His Royal Highness, the Shehu of Borno, Alh. Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai Elkanemi. Both officials commended the Commission for carrying out numerous interventions aimed at addressing the infrastructural deficit in the state and providing humanitarian support to displaced people and returnees.
The Managing Director of the Commission, Mohammed Goni Alkali, also reaffirmed the NEDC’s commitment to fulfilling its mandates by scaling up its interventions which include providing humanitarian services to both internally displaced persons and returnee communities, as well as implementing developmental projects across the state and region. The Minister concluded his working tour in the state after inspecting the progress of work at the Commission’s head office complex and State office.
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