Insecurity stalling development in North East — NEDC

The Managing Director, North East Development Commission (NEDC), Dr Mohammad Alkali, has lamented that the activities of criminal elements in the region are affecting the socio-economic development of the region.

He spoke Tuesday in Abuja while briefing journalists shortly after a visit by officials of the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

Alkali, however, said despite the challenges, the commission would still meet its mandate.

 “We can’t access some areas up till now due to insurgents. But we can still achieve our mandate despite the challenges.

“All challenges create opportunities. We are looking at all the challenges one after the other. Those we can handle immediately will be tackled, while those that require we reprogramme ourselves will be handled,” he said.

Speaking earlier, Kabir Mashi, the Chairman of the FAAC Postmortem Sub-Committee, who led the delegation, said the purpose of the visit was to collaborate with the commission for the development of the North East and the country at large.