It has been stressed that the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) Establishment Act designated the Commission as the Focal Point to coordinate and harmonize all other intervention programmes and initiatives that Member States, Federal Government and all Stakeholders will execute for the stabilisation and development of the Region.
The assertion was made by the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, North- East Development Commission, (NEDC), Alhaji Mohammed G. Alkali while Speaking at a Stakeholders Consultative Meeting with Bauchi State Stakeholders on the Proposed North- East Stabilization and Masterplan held at the Command Guest House, Bauchi, Thursday.
He said that Bauchi State the other five States in the North-East Region are the most critical partners of NEDC, in addition to Federal MDAs, Development Partners, and the Private Sector, among others.
The Managing Director of the Commission who was represented by the Bauchi state Acting Coordinator Operations, Alhaji Ibrahim Muhammed Bashir said that in order to come up with a robust Regional Master Plan, the Commission considered consultations with State Stakeholders as very pertinent towards producing a credible and comprehensive roadmap for recovery and sustainable socio-economic development of the North -East.
He further disclosed that during the preceding year 2021, the Commission conducted baseline surveys and held consultations with diverse groups such as: Grassroot Stakeholders in all the 20 LGAs in the State in June/July; Organised Private Sector (Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture), Road Transport Actors & CSOs in August as well as the representatives of State Governments in the North East in September.
According to him, Similar engagements were held with Development Partners, Federal Legislators from the North East and Federal MDAs as well as Security Agencies for inputs.
Goni Alkali said that, “Today’s joint Consultative Meeting with all representative groups of Stakeholders in the State (MDAs, Legislature, Judiciary, LGA Officials, Security Agencies, Traditional and Religious Leaders, Private Sector, CSOs, HDP Actors, Women and Youth Groups, Persons Living With Disabilities) will be followed by finalization of a Draft Master Plan that will eventually be presented for validation”.
He explained that “The essence of having these diverse Stakeholders under one roof here, therefore, is to harness their individual and collective inputs to enrich the process and align with inclusiveness and bottom-up policy of NEDC”.
Goni Alkali maintained that the proposed 10-year NESDMP consists of ten Pillars which will encompass the relevant aspects of the Development Plans and Policies of Bauchi State Government and those of other Partners.
“In this meeting, the progress made so far in the Master Plan Project will be presented to Stakeholders and their inputs solicited for inclusion in the Plan”, he added.
He also said that during the Technical Session, discussions are expected to focus on: Schemes, Programmes and Projects that should be included in the Master Plan to alleviate poverty and create prosperity in the State in particular and the North- East Region in general.
The NEDC MD /CEO expressed Concerns regarding the implementation of the Master Plan when completed, including its adaptability and funding windows Strategies to be adapted to ensure purposeful collaboration, cooperation, coordination and effective integration between NEDC, Bauchi State and other Partners.
He also said that there will be additional valuable contributions for the Master Plan, particularly regarding prioritization of Schemes, Programmes and Projects, while pleading with participants to kindly complete the questionnaires issued to them at the point of registration and return same to us before the end of the meeting
In his remarks, Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir commended NEDC for its various interventions in the state saying that the state has benefited immensely from the activities of the Commission.
The Governor, represented by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Hashimu Yakubu said that the Commission has been enjoying maximum cooperation and support from the State and all his colleagues from the other States in the North East.
The Governor stressed that they (the Governors) would not have achieved much without their partnership and the Commission through the MD and his management team.
He expressed optimism that at the end of the stakeholders meeting, a more robust Masterplan will be developed which will hasten the reconstruction process of the subregion which has been devastated by the series of acts of insurgency.
The North- East Development Commission is established to tackle insurgency and devastation created by Boko Haram in the region coming as a landmark achievement for the North East geopolitical zone as President Muhammadu Buhari established it as a direct response to the devastation and violence the North-East Region went through due to insurgency.
The mandate of the Commission, among others, is charged with the responsibility to recover, stabilize and develop the Region.
To achieve the aim of its establishment, the NEDC Act provided that the Commission shall “develop a Master Plan based on the needs assessment of the zone to be known as the North-East Stabilisation and Development Master Plan’’.
This Master Plan shall contain programmes and schemes that promote and facilitate the physical and socio-economic development of the North-East Zone, as well as estimates of the time and costs of implementing the programmes and schemes.
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