By Inusa Ndahi, Maiduguri
THE North East Development Commission, NEDC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mutual Commitment Group (MCG), a chinese construction company for the ongoing Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR) of millions of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs and other victims of Boko Haram.
This was disclosed in an interview with the NEDC Chairman Major General Paul Tarfa (rtd), after a close door meeting with newly reconstituted Board members, including the Managing Director, Goni Alkali and the Management Team of MCG led by its Managing Director, Mr. Long Liu at the conference hall of the commission’s head office in Maiduguri on Tuesday.
Tarfa said, the MOU became imperative to scale up the people oriented interventions executed by the commission within the six states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi and Taraba.
According to the NEDC Chairman, the over one decade atrocities perpetrated by the insurgents in the region was very alarming, adding that, a wholistic approach is needed to address most of the short and long term durable solutions.
He pointed out that the areas of collaborating include “Renewable Energy/power generation, health care, education, agriculture, roads construction, favourable climate, jobs creation, poverty alleviation, rehabilitation and resettlement.”
Addressing Journalists, the Managing Director, MCG, Mr. Liu said, “We are at the NEDC office together with my entourage as development partners to sign an MOU on infrastructure, industry and regional development projects in the North East subregion.
“This MOU is aimed at resolving the immediate challenges and devastations that were carried out by insurgents, and the attendant economic meltdown.
“We are to start prioritizing key areas such as reconstruction, ecological and climate change, power, transportation, resettlement, education and hosts of other projects.
“We want to assure the people in the region and Nigerians that MCG would do its best to change the narratives, through reintegrated approach mechanism, and to also attract more investment opportunities” he said.
