NEDC Unveils Intervention Packages In Bauchi

BY KHALID IDRIS DOYA, Bauchi

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouk has observed the food insecurity in Nigeria is caused by many factors whichincluded insecurity, climate change and poverty.

She reiterated that President Muhammadu Buhari has shown a lot of commitments in addressing these of food insecurity, malnutrition by initiating the national poverty growth reduction and shortages.

The Minister was speaking in Bauchi Thursday at the launching of various interventions of the North East Development Commission for it’s support efforts to address food insecurity, and socioeconomic development in the North East sub-region She explained that to mitigate food insecurity, malnutrition and other challenges of human concern in north eastern states, her ministry through NEDC is commencing the distribution of food and non-food items in six states of the zone to reduce hunger.

Speaking during the ceremony, the NEDC Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Mohammed Alkali Goni said part of the commission’s mandate is rehabilitation and reconciliation of the infrastructural facilities damaged as a result of activities of insurgency.

Alhaji Mohammed Goni said the commission would construct 500 housing units in Bauchi, 300 of which in the state capital while the remaining 200 to be spread across the state. On the flag-off of the distribution of food and non-food items, Mohammed Alkali said that the NEDC handed over 10,000 bags of rice (25kg) 12,000 Gallons of vegetable oil, 10,000 Bags of sugar, 2,000, cartons of spaghetti, 3,000 cartons of macaroni and donated non-food items, blanket PCS 2,000 (Pcs), Mats 2,000 (Pcs), mosquito nets 2,000 (Pcs), mosquito hand band 10,000 (Pcs) for distribution as well as distribution of food and non-food items to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who are presently taking refuge in Bauchi state.

“Investigations by experts revealed that the stock of houses in the North-Eastern states before the insurgency was about 4 million, out of which over 500,000 structures (houses and commercial premises) were destroyed or irreparably damaged, which before the insurgency, there was a Housing deficit in all the States of the Region.

“Therefore, the insurgency only further aggravated the situation while in all of this, Borno State being the epicenter of the crisis is worst affected with the largest number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)”

“In 2019, President, Muhammadu Buhari approved a special Presidential intervention in Borno State (SPIB) in order to reduce the desperate situation that displaced communities in the state had found themselves through the construction of 10,000 houses and the establishment of Technical and Vocational Skills Acquisition Centres for the IDPs amongst others.”

In the area of ICT training in the region, NEDC Boss said that the Commission trained 2,400 youths in 2 batches across the six states and donated equipped infectious Diseases Laboratory for the testing of COVID – 19 and other diseases which were commissioned in Yobe, Bauchi and Taraba states while Adamawa and Gombe states will be done soon.

Flagging-off off the construction of 500 housing units in Bauchi as part of the commission’s intervention programme, Governor Bala Mohammed said the occasion is a testimony of NEDC to the upliftment of the living conditions of people of the subregion through the provision of infracturatural facilities and social amenities.

The Governor observed that the commission has standup to justify it’s creation as an intervention agency with all the six states in the sub-region through one way or the other benefited immensely through the various initiatives of the commission.

He enumerated the commission’s various interventions in Bauchi State to included construction of one block of six classrooms in each of the twenty LGAs of the state and distribution of assorted educational materials for both primary and secondary schools across the state, among others.