Austin Ajayi l Yola.
There were tears of joy and relief for motorist plying Mubi/Michika road when the Kudzum bridge destroyed during the heat of Boko Haram in Adamawa on Thursday as Gov. Ahamdu Umuru Finitiri Commissions the bridge reconstructed by the North-East Development Commission (NEDC).
The commissioning of the Kudzum bridge in Michika local government of Adamawa State has brought a lot of relief and joy to the people of the area.
Residents and motorist have suffered years of untold hardship as a result of the destruction of the bridge by Boko Haram terrorists in 2014.
A resident of the area, Vandy Sini tearfully said “this calls for merriment as the federal government comes to our rescue.
” We remain highly indebted for this great project by the NEDC and we must thank the federal government for this show of good will.”
Another resident of the area Donald Kwage said before the commissioning of the bridge, residents have encountered serious challenges crossing the river especially during rainy days resulting in loss of lives and properties.
“We have encountered numerous accidents costing lives and properties of residents as it has always been a nightmare crossing the river especially during the rainy days.
“But succour has now come our way with this intervention. As you know being an agrarian community, our economy revolves around agriculture and most times we find it difficult to transport our produce to markets,” he said.
Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Crowther Seth who represented the governor commissioned the bridge also thanked the federal government of Nigeria for the intervention saying it will go a long way in providing succor to the residents of the area.
Speaking, NEDC’s Managing Director, Mohammed Alkali said “the commissioning of the bridge is one of the pivotal efforts of the federal government at ensuring speedy reconstruction after the attainment of peace in the area”.
” NEDC, in line with its mandate will ensure rapid reconstruction of the region to fast track socio economic development of the area”.
The commissioning of the Kudzum bridge was sequel to the inauguration of many laudable projects in Adamawa State including the Flagg – off of 500 housing units in Duware, a suburb of Yola, the Adamawa State capital.
The commission also inaugurated a Burn Centre and a COVID-19 laboratory at the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Yola.
A fully equipped, Molecular Laboratory was launched at the State Specialist Hospital and handed over to the state government.
Also, food and non-food items were donated to address rapidly deteriorating food insecurity in the state.
The Burn Center and other facilities would be provided with a Bore-hole and 500KVA Power Generator and 10,000 litres of diesel for a start for optimal use, the NEDC said.
NEDC’s Managing Director, Mohammed Alkali, said “the intervention was meant to address developmental challenges and to restore means of livelihood of the people after 12 years of insurgency”.
Mohammed Alkali noted that “before insurgency, only about four million housing structures existed around the Northeast, out of which over 500,000 were destroyed, worsening already bad housing situation”.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier in 2019 approved a Special Presidential Intervention in Borno State (SPIB) to ameliorate the desperate situation that displaced communities in the state, and the Commission decided to extend this gesture in the other five states of the zone by the construction of 500 houses in each of the states.
He said that 250 of the 500 Houses meant for Adamawa will be in the state capital, Yola and the balance of 250 will be spread among other cities in the state.
In his remark, Gov Ahmadu Fintiri said the NEDC project aligns with his administration’s policy.
He appreciated the Management of the NEDC for its successes in human capacity development and its efforts at ensuring the rebuilding of infrastructure destroyed by insurgency in the Northeast.
“We will continue to collaborate with the NEDC in all its programmes and activities and as much as possible, strive to provide the enabling environment to ensure that all the commission’s facilities and programmes thrive in the State,” Fintiri said.
