By Abdul Kareem

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC), Honorable Usman Zannah, has praised the commission for its high-quality project delivery in the troubled sub-region. The committee said the commission deserves more funding to actualize its intervention mission for the Northeast. 

Zannah made this commendation while leading members of his committee on an oversight duty in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.

The committee members including the member representing Maiduguri Metropolitan Federal constituency of Borno state, Hon. Abdulkadir Rahis, arrived in Maiduguri on Wednesday evening and commenced their assignment on Thursday morning. The Managing Director of NEDC, Dr. Goni Alkali, guided them to key project sites around Maiduguri, Jere, Konduga, and Mafa local government areas, where they inspected ongoing and recently completed projects.

At the 22.5km Jere Bowl rural roads project, which connects five major farming communities, the Managing Director informed the committee that the contract was awarded in September 2023 at a cost of N13.5 billion. 

Mr. Alkali explained that due to the challenging terrain, each kilometer of the road costs N630 million to construct. Although the project was expected to be completed within 12 months, delays caused by Boko Haram terrorist activities have extended the timeline. So far, about half of the road project is completed, with work continuing on the remaining sections that cross through Ngwom, Koshebe, Galambari, Gongulong, Zabarmari, and Khaddamari villages.

The visiting team also inspected other project sites, including housing, hospital interventions, humanitarian supply stores, and the damaged Maiduguri Alau Dam spillway.

At the Alau Dam spillway, the Managing Director explained that a contract for its reconstruction was awarded at a cost of N1.5 billion.

The House of Representatives committee later visited the NEDC’s Maiduguri state office, which is currently under construction.

Honorable Usman Zannah informed journalists that his team was “quite impressed” with the NEDC’s work, especially the “quality of projects.”

“We are more than impressed with what we have seen so far, especially the quality of the road projects, which to me are the best so far,” said Rep. Zannah, a two-term House of Representatives member.

He emphasized that the commission deserves full support and advocated for improved funding to enable the NEDC to achieve its objectives for the Northeast Region.

A highlight of the oversight visit was the presentation of agricultural kits, including 1,000 water pumping machines, 400 cartons of herbicides, 200 spaghetti-making machines, and 200 grinding machines, which were handed over to local government officials of Jere and Mafa for distribution to selected beneficiaries.