The North East Development Commission (NEDC) is set to commence the implementation of projects worth more than N1.5 billion across the North-East within the next few months.
The commission’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Mohammed Alkali, disclosed this in Abuja during the opening of a two-day ISO Executive Retreat for senior management at Onomo Allure Hotel.
Alkali said the retreat was organised to strengthen management and ensure the effective delivery of projects outlined in the commission’s Master Plan for the North-East.
According to him, the commission will begin the execution of 50-megawatt electricity mini-grids within three weeks, with the projects expected to support small and medium-scale enterprises across the region.
He also disclosed that an N800 million road network covering parts of the six North-East states would commence within weeks. He said the project would improve transportation, boost trade and investment, and facilitate the movement of agricultural produce from rural communities to urban markets.
Alkali added that the N200 million electric vehicle project would also be supervised by the commission’s managers, who are expected to ensure that the project is delivered according to approved specifications and international standards.
The NEDC boss explained that the Abuja retreat was designed for officers on Levels 14 to 17, while an earlier retreat held in Maiduguri, Borno State, was attended by officers on Levels 6 to 13.
He said the retreat provided an opportunity for the management team to assess the commission’s ISO journey, strengthen executive ownership of its Integrated Management System (IMS), and align its strategic priorities.
Alkali noted that the commission began operations seven years ago with only a small number of staff and without a Company Secretary or Accountant. He said the NEDC had since obtained five international certifications and implemented projects worth several billions of naira across the region.
He said: “NEDC has achieved certification to five ISO management system standards. The focus has moved beyond certification to ensuring that the standards become embedded in how the institution is led, how decisions are taken, how risks are managed and how programmes are delivered.”
The commission’s Head of Governance, Compliance and Service Reforms, Hajiya Fatima Dalhatu, urged managers to remain deliberate in their approach to project implementation “so that we would be able to improve on our delivery”.
She said: “Roads, schools, health facilities, water, livelihoods, mobility, energy and other interventions depend not only on investment, but also on the systems through which those investments are planned, managed, monitored and sustained. Better management should ultimately result in better development outcomes for the people of the North-East.”