… Inspects NEDC projects

By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri

The federal government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in collaboration with the North East Development Commission, NEDC will continue to lay a solid foundation of sustainable development for the resilient people of Borno state which has suffered over a decade of Boko Haram conflict and the recent September 2024 flood disaster.

This was disclosed by the pioneer Minister of State Regional Development, Hon. Maigari Uba Ahmadu when he led a federal government and NEDC delegations on a courtesy call on Governor Babagana Zulum at the Government House Maiduguri on Monday.

This is as the Minister who was on a three -day official visit inspected numerous people-oriented projects executed by NEDC.

The delegations were received by the Deputy Governor, Dr Umar Kadafur, who represented the governor who was out of the country for an official engagement.

Addressing the Deputy Governor at the Council Chambers, the Minister who was flanked by the Managing Director/CEO of the NEDC, Alhaji Goni Alkali sympathised with the government and the people of the state over the humanitarian challenges such as terrorism and the flood disaster, adding that, his ministry, the NEDC and other development agencies would partner with Borno state and other states of the federation to provide meaningful and impactful development at all levels.

“Your Excellency, I am here with members of this delegation to sympathise with the Government and the resilient people of Borno over the humanitarian challenges, especially the insecurity and the recent flood disaster.

“I want to assure you that my ministry which oversees the activities of the NEDC, and the recently established North West Development Commission, NWDC, and the North Central Development Commission, NCDC will partner with Borno State Government in its post-insurgency era to reconstruct and rehabilitate all critical infrastructures that were hitherto destroyed.

” We equally commend the efforts put in place by Governor Zulum and other development partners for impacting positively on the lives of the people in the state”. The Minister said.

Responding, the Deputy Governor thanked the Minister for finding time to visit Borno and see practically the humanitarian crisis bedevilling the good people in the state.

He pointed out that NEDC has been a very committed partner in the developmental process of Borno.

Kadafur stressed that the insurgency has really impacted negatively on the progress of Borno, but insisted that there is going to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

The Minister also paid an inspection visit to NEDC projects, such as the Centre for the Study of Violent Extremism at the University of Maiduguri where he was received by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mohammed Laminu Mele, the Burn Centre and Maternity Ward at Uthe niversity of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) where he was briefed by the Chief Medical Director (CMD).

According to the CMD of UMTH, Professor Ahmed Ahidjo said, the institution provides over 60% of manpower needs in the whole of about 14 medical tertiary institutions in the whole of the six North Eastern states.

Unfortunately, he pointed out that despite the interventions made to the hospital by NEDC, the September 2024 Flood Disaster came and ravaged critical medical facilities at the institution worth over N13 billion.

“Virtually the hospital is the largest in the whole of West Africa with about 1,300-bed capacity and the whole of the group floor and the whole of the centres, we have about 14 specialised centres of excellence. They were all flooded. And some of the machines, they are very expensive, you know in the medical field.

“The cancer machines are truly expensive. The radiologic department is very expensive. The laboratories are very expensive. The kidney centre machines are very expensive. All these machines are submerged in water which is worth over N13 billion.”

He said these developments at point in time made the hospital management to take the hard decision to stop admitting new patients to avoid the risk of disease outbreaks.

He continued: “For now we only carry emergency operations. You can imagine a very big hospital like UMTH, is now turned into a Primary Health Care Centre”.

The CMD therefore appealed to the federal government through the Ministry of State for Regional Development to come to the aid of UMTH and salvage it towards providing the needed healthcare services not only to Borno people but to the entire North East sub-region.

In his response, the Minister sympathised with the management, staff and clients of UMTH over the collapse of the Alau Dam which has caused severe damage to medical equipment.

He pledged that his Ministry would collaborate with NEDC, gthe overnment and other relevant agencies, and take an inventory to see that the immediate issues needed in providing basic healthcare are addressed, while other interventions that are needed or require to level would be addressed accordingly.

Other places visited by the Minister are the Medical Store (Pharma Grade) tothe warehouse (Oil Mill), Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, and numerous sites where NEDC executed several projects in Maiduguri and its environs