The Managing Director of the North East Development Commission, NEDC Mohammed Alkali has said 500, 000 structures including houses and commercial premises were destroyed by insurgents in the region out of 4 million stock of houses.
Mohammed Alkali hinted this in Gombe while laying the foundation for 500units of houses by NDEC in the state said the
Mandate of the commission included Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of destroyed Homes and Commercial Premises of Citizens in the Region.
According to him, “You may also wish to be informed that the stock of houses in the North-East Region before the insurgency was about 4 million, out of which over 500,000 structures (Houses and Commercial Premises) were destroyed or irreparably damaged.
He noted that even before the insurgency, there was Housing deficit in all the States of the Region, adding that the insurgency only further aggravated the situation,”.
Borno State, he said being the epic centre of the crisis is worse affected with the largest number of Internally Displaced Persons.
He said based on the above, President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier in 2019 approved a Special Presidential Interventions in Borno State (SPIB) to ameliorate the desperate situation that displaced communities in the State had found themselves through the construction of 10,000 Houses amongst other developmental palliatives.
“As part of the execution of the SPIB, it was resolved that the NEDC should undertake the construction of the first 1,000 houses.
Today, I am pleased to mention that, at a ceremony on 02/09/2021 the 1,000 Houses at Ngowom Village, Mafa Local Government of Borno State was formally handed over to the Executive Governor of Borno State, Professor Baba Gana Umara Zullum. We were able to deliver a Town with the necessary social amenities,” he said.
He added that the Commission reflecting on its mandate decided to replicate same in the other five states of the Region by the construction of 500 Houses in each state.
“Today, we are realising the actualization of this commitment by the foundation laying ceremony of 250 Houses here in Gombe Town by His Excellency, the Executive Governor, while the balance of 250 will be spread among other Cities in the State.
“The following socio-economic facilities would also be provided in the estate: – Reticulated Water Supply, Lightening and commercial spaces amongst others,” he said.
On the same day, the NEDC also commenced the flag off the distribution of food items and others to the people of the state.
“The issue of imminent food in-security in the Region had been the matter of discourse for a long time. Today, as part of the strategy, we are going to hand-over the following items to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Gombe State for onward distribution to our people of concern in the State; Bags of Rice (25kg) 10,000, Gallons of Vegetable Oil 10,000, Cartons of Tomatoes paste 2,000, Bags of Sugar 2,000, Packets of Maggi 1,500, Cartons of Spaghetti 3,000,” he said.
The NEDC also donated
2,000 pieces of blankets 2,000 pieces of mats 1,000 pieces of Mosquito nets and 10,000 pieces of Mosquito hand band to support the IDPs and other vulnerable groups in the state.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya while commending the efforts of the commission in the region said more still need to be done to restore normalcy in the area.
According to him, Gombe State has always been at the receiving end of all the conflicts in the region because of its location at the center of it.
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