By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri

The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has organized a 3-Day Workshop for its staff (levels 6 to 13), drawn from headquarters and State Offices to deepen institutional excellence and move from standards to practice.

Holding at Borno State Hotel in Maiduguri on Monday, with five International Standards, One NEDC (ISO) certified Intergrated Management System (IMS) is targeted at Quality Management; Environmental Management; Occupational Health; Safety Management; Anti-Bribery Management and Sustainable Development in Communities.

Declaring the Workshop open, the Managing Director/CEO of the Commission, Alhaji Goni Alkali said, NEDC established precisely in 2019, and which started as a scratch, has now moved to excellence in accordance to the North-East Stabilization and Development Masterplan (NESDMP).

He said, the Forum in Maiduguri, Borno State, aims to renew focus on strengthening the systems, people and processes that support the delivery of its mandate across the region.

He noted that NEDC has across the six states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi and Taraba has impacted positively in the area of health, education, roads, Housing, infrastructural development, training and capacity building among other interventions.

“NEDC which started from a scratch was able to deliver on its mandate across the six states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi and Taraba. The Commission has impacted positively in the area of health, education, roads, Housing, infrastructural development, training and capacity building among other interventions.

“This three-day Forum, which runs from 14–16 September 2026, brings together staff from the Commission’s headquarters and State Offices to examine how the principles of quality, accountability, integrity and improved service delivery can be better reflected in the day-to-day work of the Commission.

“The Forum also follows the NEDC’s certification to five International Organization for Standardization management system standards covering Quality Management, Environmental Management, Occupational Health and Safety, Anti-Bribery Management, and Sustainable Development in Communities”. Alkali said.

The Managing Director further said, the value of the standards will ultimately be determined by how they improve the Commission’s work and its service to the people of the North-East.

“For us, excellence must ultimately be measured by the quality of development we deliver to the people of the North-East.

“Our ISO certifications established important standards, but the real work is ensuring that those standards are reflected in how we work, how we serve and how we deliver.”

He enjoined the participants to work through practical exercises, simulations and real workplace situations aimed at improving collaboration, problem-solving and service delivery.

He stressed that the Commission recognises that delivering roads, schools, healthcare facilities, water, livelihoods and other interventions across the North-East also depends on the strength of the institution behind those interventions.

“Building capable people, improving internal systems and strengthening accountability are therefore an important part of the NEDC’s wider development mandate.

“Through the Excellence Forum, the Commission seeks to ensure that the standards it has adopted are not simply requirements for certification, but become part of how its people work and how the institution delivers”. Alkali concluded