North-East: NEYRA kicks as Zulum identifies operational lapses in NEDC

The North-East Youths Renaissance Assembly (NEYRA) has expressed deep concern over what it termed as public rebuke by Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, of the leadership of the North-East Development Commission (NEDC).
It will be recalled that during the commissioning of multiple humanitarian and infrastructure projects last week in Maiduguri, the state’s capital, the governor made an observation that almost marred the occasion. Prof. Zulum in his remark, publicly accused NEDC’s Managing Director, Mohammed Goni Alkali, of sidelining key officials in decision-making, particularly the Directorate of Humanitarian Affairs.
Analysts are of the opinion that such public rebuke highlighted a breakdown in protocol and management harmony within the Commission under the NEDC’s Managing Director, Mohammed Goni Alkali. Specifically, the governor questioned why the responsibilities of the Humanitarian Affairs Directorate were being performed by the Executive Director, Operations.
Unable to explain the reasons why, the governor in another remark at the commissioning of another project conclusively told the dignitaries which included the Minister of State for Regional Development, HE Barr. Uba Maigari Ahmadu, members of the National Assembly and other Board members of the NEDC, that from what he saw, “the only person deserving of credit for the humanitarian interventions was Malam Musa Yashi” who heads the Directorate of Humanitarian Affairs in the NEDC.
NEYRA, therefore, is calling on the leadership of the Commission to address the concerns raised with a view to restoring professionalism in its operations, as well as giving due credit to all deserving personnel, in order to foster a culture of integrity, inclusivity, acknowledgement and collaboration in rebuilding the North-East.
The group appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly to launch an urgent investigation aimed at restoring the credibility and statutory function of the NEDC, saying the intervention of Governor Zulum shows that the contextual issues are now public spotlight transcending internal bureaucratic politics, requiring urgent action, thereof.
Parts of the press statement signed by NEYRA’s Chairman and Secretary, Comrade Bukar Shehu Lawan and Comrade Umar Isa, respectively, read: “For us, this is high time that something drastic was done by the Government to arrest this glaring abuse of power and authority by no other person than the MD who has consciously or unconsciously constituted himself as cog in the wheel of progress”, according to a senior Officer of the Commission who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We know that the North East Development Commission, NEDC has three Directorates, namely; Humanitarian Affairs, Operations and Administration & Finance.
“Of the three Departments, the Humanitarian Affairs is considered the most critical and the engine room of the Commission as all activities and programmes revolve around humanitarian interventions upon which the Commission was mainly established.”
“However, it was observed that particularly in the last two years, the Humanitarian Affairs Directorate headed by a Presidential Humanitarian Award Winner of 2022, seems completely neglected while the other Directorates have seemingly usurped its functions and responsibilities as Governor Zulum rightly observed. “
“For us as concerned Northeasterners, if the truth must be told, the share of the blame falls directly on no other person than the Managing Director, Mohammed Goni Alkali, who deliberately prefers dealing with the Executive Directors of Operations and that of Administration and Finance seen as his errand boy. “
“Ladies and gentlemen of the Press, we observed that contrary to the Act Establishing the NEDC, the bulk of activities and operations of the Commission, were being outsourced to the other Departments, effectively rendering the Humanitarian Affairs Department groundless and redundant.
“So far, over 80% of all the major contracts and programmes of the Commission have been diverted to the Directorate of Operations, a situation that undoubtedly fired the imagination of HE Borno State Governor and the public query”
“Zulum publicly scolded the Management of the NEDC with the hope of redressing and correcting the abnormality.
“Beyond the incident, we have it on good authority that the MD is actively promoting acts of favouritism and nepotism in the organisation. For instance, there are situations where staff are employed and redeployed to Departments without following due process which is contrary to civil service rules.
“These acts of favouritism is deliberately employed to buy blind loyalty and support from those officers in the course of performing their duties. They run contrary to public service rules and should not be entertained at all”.