By Mukhtar Sagir Dambatta
The Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, has inspected projects executed by the North East Development Commission (NEDC) in Maiduguri ahead of their inauguration.
The projects include roads, 10,000 electric vehicles comprising buses, tricycles and taxis, as well as charging infrastructure under construction.
This is contained in a statement on Friday in Abuja, by the Head of Information and Public Relations, Ministry of Regional Development, Mr Sani Datti,
Momoh also visited the nearly completed NEDC state office and the ongoing construction of the commission’s corporate headquarters in Maiduguri.
The minister said the inspection was primarily to assess the electric vehicles purchased by the commission, describing the project as one of the major projects approved by the Federal Executive Council.
He said the inspection was necessary for the supervising ministry to assess the level of work achieved on ground before inviting President Bola Tinubu for the inauguration.
”I’m impressed today as we are not disappointed to see that this project is seeing the light of the day; nearly 10,000 E-vehicles and tricycles are assembled,” he said.
Momoh also said that several road projects had been completed in Jere/Mafa Local Government Areas of Borno, including the 22.5-kilometre Jere Bowl Road, 10.5-kilometre Ngwom-Kashebe Road, 8.5-kilometre Gongulong-Zabarmari-Khaddamar Road and 3.5-kilometre Galameri-Dasuman Road.
According to him, the completed roads have revived economic activities along the affected corridors and improved the livelihoods of communities affected by insurgency.
He added that the roads would enable farmers to transport their agricultural produce to Maiduguri and other markets.
The minister commended the NEDC Managing Director, Mohammed Goni Alkali, board members and management staff for their efforts in executing the projects.
The minister was accompanied during the inspection by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Mary Ada-Ogbe, officials of the ministry, Alkali and other NEDC management staff. (NAN)
Edited by Deborah Coker