The Managing Director of the North-East Development Commission (NEDC), Mr Mohammed Alkali, has stated that the commission needs around $80 billion to implement its master plan for the North-east region.
He said this during a meeting in Abuja on Tuesday with the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) Postmortem Sub-Committee, led by Chairman Mr Kabir Mashi, Alkali expressed these financial requirements.
The NEDC’s leader highlighted that a significant obstacle to the smooth execution of their master plan is the lack of sufficient funding. He noted that the implementation of the North-east Stabilisation and Development Masterplan (NESDMP) has been ongoing since June 2022.
- He said, “As you know, the issue with naira to dollar equivalent and so when you calculate the funding available to the Commission vis-a- vie the funding of the northeast stabilisation and development masterplan, it needed to be improved”
- “That is why we are trying to look inward to generate revenue, and we are also looking for public-private partnerships with some stakeholders.”
- “In spite of all the challenges, the future is still bright because when we say we require $80 billion, we expect some funding to come from public-private partnerships and every challenge creates opportunities.”
- “So, we are ready to work with all our partners to achieve our mandate and you know the federation accounts allocation committee is a strategic body.”
The Chairman of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) Postmortem Sub-Committee, Mashi, had earlier stated that the purpose of the subcommittee’s visit was to establish cooperation with the commission to fulfil its goals.
He also mentioned that the sub-committee, formed in July 2004 by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), has the main task of reviewing the revenue flows into the federation accounts from various generating entities.
What you should know
The North-east region has been the hotbed of the most brutal terrorist activities in the past 15 years with Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states the epicentre of the violence.
Although the Nigerian military has made significant gains in the counter-terrorism operation, the relic of the violence requires significant funding to cover.
The region is home to millions of Internally displaced persons and destroyed schools, hospitals and other government facilities and business infrastructure.
