The North East Development Commission NEDC says the thirty one trillion naira North East Stabilization and Development Master Plan will soon become operational.
Managing Director of the Commission Alhaji Mohammed Akali stated this at a parley with media executives at its headquarters in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
The parley between the media executives and newspaper publishers with the management of North East Development Commission is to discuss better ways of strengthening relationship between media organisations and the Commission.
The Managing Director North East Development Commission NEDC Alhaji Mohammed Akali said one of the mandate of the Commission is to develop a master plan for the recovery of the region after more thirteen years of insurgency.
According to him, the ten year master plan has four implementation phases, eleven pillars and 529 projects.
Alhaji Alkali listed the four phases to include recovery and stabilisation, resettlements and reintegration, expansion of socio-economic activities and sustainable growth.
The Managing Director explained that the 31 trillion naira implementation cost as at June 2022, will largely be funded through multifaceted approach and public/private partnership.
He noted that the Commission has implemented 647 rapid response intervention projects in 112 local government areas in the last two years.
Alhaji Mohammed Akali said the Commission provided intervention in areas of education with construction of 18 mega schools, trained about ten thousand youths in information, communication, technology ICT, and constructed six molecular laboratories across the six states.
Representative of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Group Captain Sadeeq Shehu rtd. lauded the Commission for executing more than five hundred projects since its establishment.
He assured that the Ministry will continue to support NEDC to develop the devastated region.
Chairman of the Commission Major General Paul Tarfa rtd. assured that NEDC is committed to achieve its mandate and seek the support of the media in projecting image of the Commission.
Responding on behalf of the media executives, Director News Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria Hussaina Akila described as timely the high level media engagement, noting that such interactive session should be sustained.
The media executives will tour some projects executed by the Commission which include one thousand housing units at Ngom Village and Centre for the Study of Violent Extremism, University of Maiduguri.
Dauda Iliya
