Adamawa residents commend NEDC for community devt projects
By Rauf Oyewole, Bauchi
The residents, students and other stakeholders in Adamawa state have commended the interventions and other landmark ongoing and completed projects awarded by the North East Development Commission (NEDC).
Some of the residents who spoke separately in different communities lauded the Commission for its people-centred projects. The residents who recalled the huge loss of lives and property to the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents appreciated the regional Commission for timely response and rebuilding the communities.
One of the residents, Isa Maigida who spoke in Michika said the intervention of NEDC in completing the Kuzumu bridge linking Mubi, Hong to Bazza and Michika towns that used to be a nightmare to residents has become a thing of joy after it was rebuilt.
According to him, “This bridge, since it collapsed some years back, we have lost a lot of people and property, particularly during the Boko Haram attack on us.
“The contractor that was handling the project did absolutely nothing but when NEDC came to look at it, the MD brought his team here and promised us that the Commission would do it and today as you can see the bridge is 100 percent completed. We are very happy, motorists, travellers and the communities around are happy,” he said.
Other residents in Madagali, Yola and Mubi, Gidado Bulus, Mohammed Mohamed and Bako Ibrahim also expressed gratitude to NEDC for its interventions, describing them as God-sent.
In all the schools, hospitals and project sites visited by the inspection teams, both students and the management of the schools expressed satisfaction with the various interventions which range from access roads, construction of classroom blocks, provision of solar energy-powered boreholes, bridges linking communities to medical buildings among others in the state.
While thanking the NEDC, Chief Medical Director of Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Professor Bakari Adamu Girei, the Provost, College of Education (COE) Hong, Professor Benson Baha, and the Vice Chancellor, Adamawa State University, Mubi, Professor Stephen Lagu appreciated the NEDC for the construction of the mega accident and emergency centre in the hospital and access road in the schools.
Also, the Managing Director of NEDC, Mohammed Goni Alkali who led the team on a three-day inspection tour of the Commission’s projects in the three senatorial districts expressed satisfaction with the state of most of the ongoing projects in the state.
He vowed to sanction defaulting contractors or any shoddy execution. He urged the contractors to abide by the agreement reached but promised to look into the challenges being faced to ensure the timely completion of all the projects.
Alkali while speaking with journalists over the weekend.said that, “The rationale of the visit is to simply assess the progress made, identify challenges and come up with solutions for the benefits of the state and its teeming people.
“Most of the projects across the states are doing well, I have seen them, we want to make sure that those having challenges are looked into and make sure we provide solutions to those problems so that they could be completed,” he said.
Some of the projects inspected include the ongoing construction of 500 housing units in the state capital, 40 housing projects in Hong, the ongoing construction of an accident and emergency unit in Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital (MAUTH), solar-powered boreholes at FCE and Yola, also the installation of street lights in parts of Yola metropolis and the solar powered street lights in Adamawa state polytechnic.
Other projects inspected by the team include three mega schools being constructed in each of the senatorial zones of the state, a 2.5km access road at College of Education Hong, 40 housing units at College of Education (COE) Hong, 32km Garkida –Dabna road in which 14km has already been completed and Dilchim bridge which is under construction.
