NEDC achieves 80% of northeast recovery mandate, delivers major gains in health, education, infrastructure

The Managing Director of the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC), Mohammed Alkali, has disclosed that the Commission has successfully achieved about 80 percent of its mandate in rebuilding and developing Nigeria’s Northeast region since its establishment.

Alkali made the disclosure on Thursday during an interactive session with senior media executives in Abuja, where he highlighted the Commission’s achievements in healthcare, education, infrastructure and power development.

The NEDC was established in 2017 through an Act of the National Assembly to coordinate the reconstruction, rehabilitation and long-term development of communities across the six Northeast states devastated by insurgency.

According to the Managing Director, the Commission has been implementing its 10-year Stabilization and Development Masterplan, which is structured into four phases: Recovery and Stabilization, Renewal, Expansion, and Consolidation.

Speaking on improvements in the healthcare sector, Alkali said the Commission carried out extensive diagnostic studies that revealed severe shortages of critical medical equipment across the region.

“We did a lot of diagnostic studies of the health situation. We discovered that only one functional MRI machine existed in the Northeast. We invited stakeholders in the tertiary institutions and discovered that, aside from the MRI machine, there was no CT scan machine,” he said.

He noted that by the end of the current quarter, the region would have eight state-of-the-art MRI machines, while CT scan machines had also been provided to health institutions to improve diagnostic and treatment services.

In the education sector, Alkali revealed that the Commission has constructed three mega schools in each of the six Northeast states, bringing the total number to 18 fully functional mega schools equipped with modern learning facilities.

He also highlighted significant investments in road infrastructure, stating that the Commission has rehabilitated and constructed several strategic roads and completed more than 50 bridges across the region to improve connectivity and support economic activities.

Alkali, who addressed the media alongside the Chairman of the Commission, Major General Paul Tarfa (Rtd), stressed that ensuring stable electricity remains a top priority, noting that investments in health, education and infrastructure would have limited impact without reliable power supply.

The NEDC boss further assured Nigerians that the Commission would not tolerate abandoned projects, emphasizing that contracts are only awarded when adequate funding is available.

“Before any project is awarded, we will make sure that funds are available so that we don’t abandon projects midway. I can say categorically that if you are given a job and you don’t do it, we won’t pay you. Any contract we execute must meet the required standard before payment is made,” Alkali stated.

He reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to delivering sustainable development projects that will improve the lives of people across the Northeast while ensuring transparency, accountability and value for public funds.