The North East Development Commission (NEDC) is set to take off following the confirmation of its 11-member list sent to the Senate for approval by President Muhammadu Buhari.
This is as the Commission itself on Tuesday, presented N55billion budget proposal to the National Assembly joint committee on Special Duties for approval as takeoff votes .
The 11 members included the office of the chairman of the commission and the managing director/Chief Executive Officer.
The commission which is situated in Maiduguri, Borno State capital has Major General Tarfa Paul (rtd) as Chairman, Mohammed Goni Alkali as MD/CEO, Musa Umar Yashi, Executive Director, Humanitarian Affairs and Muhammed Jawa as Executive Director, Admin and Finance.
Others are: Omar Maiwada Mohammed executive director operations, David Sabo Kente representing North East, Asmau Mai- Eka Muhammed, North west, Hon. Benjamin Tilley Adanyi, North central, Hon. Olawale Oshun, South west, Dr. Theodore E.O Ekechi, South east and Mr. Obasuke McDonald, South south.
The appointments were confirmed by the Senate following the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Special Duties , presented by its chairman, Sen. Abdul Aziz Nyako ( ADC Adamawa Central).
The confirmation did not go smoothly as some senators expressed concern why the commission is situated in Borno State with the chief executive officer coming from the same state.
Senator Binta Masi Garba (APC Adamawa North) said she observed that the commission is domiciled in Borno State and the CEO is from the same Borno State, contrary to what happened with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
But Sen Abdulaziz Murtala Nyako (Adamawa Central ) said while Binta’s observation was valid, the appointment was made by the executive .
In his contribution, the Deputy leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah (APC Kebbi South) said the observations are valid within the context but that certain peculiarities should be considered adding that the choice of Mohammed Goni Alkali as the CEO of the North East Development Commission will help in quick responses.
“Siting the headquarters in Borno State is a legislative action. Appointment of the CEO is also an action from the executive and in the spirit of separation of power, we should respect the action of the executive,” Na’allah said.
Meanwhile the just confirmed Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer of the Commission , Mohammed Goni Alkali presented to joint session of the National Assembly Committee on Special Duties , N55billion take off budget for the commission for approval .
According to him, if approved, total sums of N10 billion will be used for takeoff while N45 billion would be used for humanitarian interventions.
He said : ” In the 2019 federal government budget, the commission was allocated a sum of N55.00 billion. N10 billion for take off and N45 billion for humanitarian and developmental interventions in the region.
“ln the budget, these figures were allocated as line items and below we express how the Commission plans to utilize the amounts towards achieving the desired outcomes”.
He added that recruitment of the initial core staff as well as appointment of critical consultants/professionals to assist in the take-off of the commission is included in the budget estimate.
“Rent and/or renovate and furnish a temporary head office of the commission in Maiduguri, Borno State and start-up offices in the six states and Abuja, planning and implementation of physical and socio-economic reconstruction of the zone as provided in clause (8) of the act is included in the budget,” he said.
Alkali noted that the commission will also commence action immediately on all other matters stipulated under the functions of the commission under clause (8) in addition to the development of the Master Plan of the commission.
The CEO said the commission will develop Special Programmes on access to education and capacity building to cater for children to ensure continuity of schooling in the camps or in other locations, accelerated learning for those whose education had been truncated, organised vocational and skill acquisition training for youths and women and will also give specialized training for all vulnerable groups.
He said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (UN-OCHA) estimated that in 2019, 7.1 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States out of the total population of about 13.4 million people.
In his remarks, the Chairman, Senate committe on special duties, Abdulaziz Murtala Nyako who was flanked by his House of Representatives counterpart, Rep Sani Zauro, said the members will seat and take an immidiate position.
