The North-East Development Commission on Thursday donated 130 luggage trolleys to six airports across the North-East region and provided broadcasting equipment to the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria.
Speaking during the handover ceremony in Maiduguri, Borno State, the Managing Director of the NEDC, Muhammad Alkali, said the donations were part of efforts to support the rebuilding of the region after years of conflict.
“We are here as part of our mandate to support the rebuilding process in the North-East. From the beginning, we have been collaborating with the media because everyone needs information. This is why we are donating these items to the FRCN,” he said.
Alkali explained that the commission consulted stakeholders before providing the items to ensure they met actual needs.
“What we did was not just a kind of supply approach, we engaged all our partners to know their demand. We engaged the FRCN in discussion and narrowed it down to what is needed specifically. This is why we introduced these items. This gesture cuts across all sectors; we have done the same thing with the police, military and media,” he added.
He noted that the 130 trolleys would be shared among the six North-East states, with Borno receiving 30, while Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe would get 20 each.
“FAAN is also another very important agency. We all travel through the airports and must have seen the challenges.
“This is why we decided to look at the low-level needs for a start. As basic as trolleys, they are struggling to have enough. This is why we decided to start with these 130 trolleys before we go into the next step,” Alkali said.
Representing the NEDC management, the Managing Director of the North-West Development Commission, Abdullahi Maji, handed over the broadcasting equipment to the FRCN and said the items would improve information dissemination across the region if properly utilised.
“By the authority conferred on me by the MD of the North-East Development Commission, I hand over the following items: 5KW transmitter including antenna system and installation, six-bay broadband antenna, two computers for on-air studio, and two computers for each production studio,” he said.
He added that the donation also included a professional console, microphones, drone cameras, chairs, cables, routers, laptops, tables and other broadcasting tools.
Reacting, the Director-General of the FRCN, Muhammad Bulama, said the support would significantly improve broadcasting hours in the North-East.
“For me, the most important assistance here today is the supply of solar power to our stations. With this, it means our stations in the North-East can now broadcast 12 to 15 hours per day. We say thank you to NEDC for listening and granting our request,” he said.
Also speaking, the Regional Manager of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria at Muhammadu Buhari International Airport, Maiduguri, Fatima Aliyu, said the trolleys would make movement easier for passengers at airports across the region.
“We thank the Managing Director of the NEDC and his team for the donation of the trolleys. They will really go a long way, as they will add comfort and ease the movement of passengers’ luggage to different parts of Nigeria,” she said.
