The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has donated broadcasting equipment to the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) as well as 130 luggage trolleys to airports across the North-East region, in a renewed push to support infrastructure rebuilding in the conflict-affected zone.
Speaking during the handover ceremony on Thursday in Maiduguri, Borno State, the Managing Director of the NEDC, Mohammed Alkali, said the intervention formed part of the commission’s mandate to support recovery and development efforts in the region.
Alkali said the Commission deliberately aligned its interventions with the specific needs of beneficiary agencies after consultations.
“We are here as part of our mandate to support the rebuilding process in the North-East. From the beginning, we have been collaborating with the media because everyone needs information. This is why we are donating these items to the FRCN,” he said.
“What we did was not just a kind of supply approach, we engaged all our partners to know their demand. We engaged the FRCN in discussion and narrowed it down to what is needed specifically. This is why we introduced these items. This gesture cuts across all sectors; we have done the same thing with the police, military and media.”
He explained that the donation of trolleys was also aimed at addressing basic operational gaps at airports in the region.
“FAAN is also another very important agency. We all travel through the airports and must have seen the challenges. This is why we decided to look at the low-level needs for a start. As basic as trolleys, they are struggling to have enough. This is why we decided to start with these 130 trolleys before we go into the next step,” Alkali added.
He disclosed that the 130 trolleys were distributed across six states in the region, with allocations as follows: Adamawa (20), Bauchi (20), Borno (30), Gombe (20), Taraba (20), and Yobe (20).
Handing over the broadcasting equipment on behalf of the commission, the Managing Director of the North-West Development Commission, Abdullahi Maji, said the items, if properly utilised, would strengthen information dissemination in the region.
“By the authority conferred on me by the MD of the North-East Development Commission, I hand over the following items: 5KW transmitter including antenna system android installation, six-bay broadband antenna, two computers for on-air studio, and two computers for each production studio,” he said.
He added that other items included a 16-channel professional console, distribution amplifier, FM tuner, condenser microphones, drone cameras, furniture, cables, printers, lighting kits, routers, consoles, plugs, connectors, laptops and tables.
Responding, the Director-General of the FRCN, Mohammed Bulama, said the intervention would significantly improve broadcast operations and increase transmission hours in the region.
“For me, the most important assistance here today is the supply of solar power to our stations. With this, it means our stations in the North-East can now broadcast 12 to 15 hours per day. We say thank you to NEDC for listening and granting our request,” he said.
Also speaking, the Regional Manager of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at Muhammadu Buhari International Airport, Maiduguri, Fatima Aliyu, said the trolleys would improve passenger experience across airports in the region.
“We thank the Managing Director of the NEDC and his team for the donation of the trolleys. They will really go a long way, as they will add comfort and ease the movement of passengers’ luggage to different parts of Nigeria,” she said.
