…To Reconstruct Aloe Dam Bridge
By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri
The North East Development Commission, NEDC, has expended N1.6 billion for the construction of 40 labour rooms extension to decongest the overstretched maternity ward at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, UMTH; the Faculty of Engineering at the Borno State University, and the commision’s state office in Maiduguri.
The NEDC is also committed to reconstruct the Aloe Dam bridge that had destroyed irrigation facilities and structures in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State.
It was gathered that, the Aloe Dam supplies over 70 per cent of drinking, domestic and irrigation water to residents of Maiduguri and its environs.
The acting Managing Director of the commission, Umar Abubakar Hashidu, while inspecting four ongoing projects in Maiduguri yesterday, said that the dam construction followed a request by the Chad Basin Development Authority to the commission to intervene.
He said that the reconstruction of the dam, which overflows and destroys irrigation facilities and structures, will address perennial flooding in the community before the commencement of the rainy season.
He said that the importance of Aloe Dam cannot be overemphasized, noting that the water provides a lot of irrigation activities for food, vegetables, and others, hence the need to retrofit the structure.
Hashidu also said that most of the NEDC projects revolve around water, sanitation, medical and other critical areas that touch the lives of the people,
He said, “These are areas where the commission’s interventions are greatly needed.
“The commission also expended N1.6 billion for construction of 40 labour rooms extension to decongest the overstretched maternity ward at University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, UMTH; the Faculty of Engineering at the Borno State University and the NEDC state office in Maiduguri.”
At the Teaching Hospital, the acting MD, who visited alongside the commission’s chairman, Barr Bashir Ba’ale, and other management staff, expressed satisfaction with the quality of all the work done, and pledged to do more in uplifting the standard of living of the people in the region.
