- Asks management to account for over N3 trillion funding since 2017
- Vows to head to court if…
From Idu Jude Abuja
Prudent management of the budgetary allocation of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) under Mohammed Goni Alikali the Managing Director and the Chief Executive Officer, again has come under probe by indigenes of the North East, who seek to ascertain the level of prudent management of budgetary allocation since establishment in 2017.
Leader of the concerned North East front, Dr Garus Gololo who is also a Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress APC, gave the indication for action Thursday, while in an exclusive chat with The Sun newspaper in Abuja.
Recall that the NEDC was established in 2017 under Mohammadu Bihari, with the responsibility to “receive and manage funds from allocation of the Federal Account international donors for the settlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction of roads, among other social amenities in the war-ravaged North-East states.” The states are Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe.
The former Army general, while expressing displeasure, stated that previous and present administrations of the Federal Government, have failed to be guided by the act that established the North East Development Commission NEDC, which stipulates that the leadership of NEDC, shall be rotational amongst the North East states.
Dr Gololo, said: “The issue here is that perhaps we need to remind the Presidency and indeed every Nigerian that the North East, is a combination of different states including Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe Borno, Taraba and Yobe. I can confidently tell you that my own state Bauchi, is involved in this matter. But what we have here presently, is that the MD, is from Borno State and he has been there since the establishment of this commission. And after he served out his 5 years tenure, had it renewed for another 5 years as against the act that established the commission. I read the act copiously and it said that the leadership shall be rotational like that of the Niger Delta. But as far as I am concerned, the reason and idea for the rebuilding of the region after loss has been misplaced. I would like you to take a good tour of all the states that make up the North East region. You would agree with me that the idea has changed from its original priority, which is to Develop and rehabilitate the people after the Boko Haram menace. There is no school no health care facilities, no road and portable water and people are not yet settled to go back to farms to help their families”.
Dr Gololo, further speaking, questions the reason for the lack of scholarship schemes and over sea educational training for indigenes of the North East to fall in line with what is obtained from the Niger Delta Commission NDDC. “As I earlier said, among the six states, no reasonable infrastructure of any sort can be seen as proof of World Bank donations, UNDP or huge FG yearly budgetary allocations. The only visible thing about the NEDC are official vehicles which sometimes at Bauchi GRA packed at their office liaison but yet nothing is physically seen as an executed project in their name”
Meanwhile, Dr Gololo has threatened to head to court to press further the demand for equity in the prudent management of funding of the North East Development Commission NEDC since its establishment, with the request of the National Assembly committee on the North East to do something possible to ensure that this quest for accountability is granted and justice served. And failure to achieve this, I will head to. Court and Iam also appealing to Me. President to withdraw this man in respect to the act that established the NEDC.
“If you read the act very well, the act says that the management shall hold out lic hearing to expose all the projects they are about to execute and also to allow the people make impute to that project which they so desired of. The committee is also supposed to have oversight functions to determine areas that are not covered I said, I am from Gololo Local government and during those days of the insurgency, there were people from some communities that were displaced and till now they are not back to their original place and without relief materials. In my community we still have those from diffa chased to Niger Republic and it seems those ones are now forgotten there. And we ask, what efforts have they made to bring those people back and rehabilitate them? This is because it is their duty to do that. But I found out that all this is centred on individuals representing the whole zone and should not be so”.
He said that a tour of all six states showed a lack of NEDC presence in terms of developmental projects or social intervention. “For instance, from Gombe to Bauchi, a bridge linking the two states caved in and till this moment, no one cared to rehabilitate it. And where are the North East Development Commission NEDC people to fix it for us making a journey to and from the states is hell as I talk to you. Even Borno the headquarters of NEDC is an eyesore and inside Borno State, I traveled up to Gamboru GANA to bani to damasa they have done nothing. In Yobe state, I was in gaidam, in Kanama, I was in Tulotulo also in Macina so I have no record of any achievement. You see I don’t talk of Bauchi because it seems they are not remembered as part of NEDC. If Nigeria know, we are in the rainy season and they are supposed to share relief materials to those whose houses and farms were submerged. We have a place in Yobe called Guru and part of Alkaleri and Duguri in Bauchi State suffered climate change flooding. We ask where are the relief materials to assist those people”.
Commenting on the inability of the North East governors unanimously to demand the effective implementation of the budgets for NEDC, he said that his effort remains personal as a bonafide citizen of Nigeria and indigene of North East from Bauchi State, who is. It happy with the way things are happening.
“I care not about the efforts of the Governor’s from the North East, or whatever they do about their misgivings. What I am saying is that I have every legal right to challenge anyone who misuses the NEDC funding because the zone, is for all of us not for anyone alone. So my question is for them to give an account of all the funding amounting to 3 Trillion since its establishment by law in 2017 till date. We need the financial record published or we need a public presentation of the expenditure as it is done in the NDDC and during one of those outings we saw someone collapse when the hit was too much. We want such to feature in NEDC. We need it published in the dailies so that a proper investigation can made. It is also important for the Federal Government of Nigeria to set up an investigative committee to come up with a report of what these people are doing.”
Dr Gololo, also drew the attention of Mr. President to reexamine the reapportionment of Mr Alikali as it goes against the act that established the North East Development Commission NEDC.