North East Dev Commission, reward for massive vote for me ― Buhari

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday inaugurated the Governing Board of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), headed by Major General Paul Tarfa (rtd) as chairman.

Performing the ceremony in the Council Chamber of the presidential villa, Abuja, he asserted that the establishment of the Commission was in appreciation of the massive electoral support, he received from the Zone in 2015 and 2019 general elections.

He said it was also in fulfilment of the pledge of his administration to the people of the North East Geo-Political Zone and as part of the strategy for regenerating the socio-economic potentials of the Geo-Political Zone after the devastation of the Boko-Haram insurgency.

The president recalled that the Commission was established by the North East Development Commission (NEDC) (Establishment) Act, 2017 which he assented to on 25th October 2017.

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According to him, the Commission is charged with the responsibility of among other things, receiving and managing funds allocated by the Federal Government of Nigeria and donors for the resettlement, rehabilitation, integration and construction of roads, houses and business premises of victims of insurgency as well as taking care of the menace of poverty, illiteracy, ecological problems and other related environmental and developmental challenges in the North East States.

The President emphasised that the 11 Member Governing Board has been carefully constituted based on the proven track records of hard work and integrity of members.

He added: “It is, therefore, the expectation of Government and people of the Zone that you will rapidly and systematically set to work to address all areas of your mandates in a fair and equitable manner.

“To demonstrate the commitment of this Government to your effective takeoff, a provision of N10 billion has been made in the 2019 budget. It is my expectation that you will judiciously apply these resources.”

The President charged the Chairman and Members to as a matter of urgency conduct a comprehensive survey of all States in the zone to determine the reconstruction and rehabilitation needs of all the socio-economic sectors of the zone and develop an intervention master plan based on the outcome of the assessments,

Other charges he gave them included: to develop policies and implementation guidelines for immediate intervention in the development of the zone; institute a strong mechanism for effective and efficient coordination of all the stakeholder (local and International) activities, starting by taking over of all Federally-funded activities, projects and programmes as well as the structures and logistics assets that the organizations utilize.

In order to avoid duplication of efforts and waste of scarce resources, he said the Board shall be the focal organization to assess, coordinate, harmonize and report on all the intervention programmes and initiatives that the Federal Government or any of its Ministries and agencies are involved in the region.

He added: “You must, therefore, constantly liaise with the relevant Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), States and other Developmental Partners for the implementation of all programs and initiatives and proper utilization of funds released for intervention in the zone,

“Commence the process of Resettlement and Rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their original homes or new communities in order to bring social cohesion in the zone,

“Shift focus from humanitarian assistance as soon as possible in all relevant areas to developmental and infrastructural projects such as the reconstruction of Road, Houses, and Business Premises destroyed by Boko Haram.

“Evolve strategies to key into the African Development Bank (AFDB) Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones and any other such programmes and initiatives championed by our developmental partners (local and international) that will further bring socio-economic development to the zone, and endeavor to collaborate with willing partners to facilitate achievement of the Commission’s goals as enunciated in the Act establishing the Commission.

“Coordinate and promote Civil -Military confidence building and put in stabilization measures that will ensure continued peace and social harmony as well as avoid the re-occurrence of violence in the Zone.”

The President further assured the board that government shall continue to provide all the necessary enabling conditions that will facilitate the achievement of the above and ensure that all resources due to the Commission are immediately made available to the Commission.

The members of the Governing Board are Musa Yashi, Executive Director Humanitarian Affairs; Mohammed Jawa, Executive Director, Admin and Finance; Omar Mohammed, Executive Director, Operations and David Kente, member representing North East zone. Others are Asmau Mohammed, member representing North West zone; Benjamin Adanyi, Member representing North Central zone; Olawale Oshun, member representing South West zone; Theodore Ekechi, member representing South-East and Obasuke McDonald, member representing South-South zone.