To bring succour to the victims of Maidugri Monday Market, the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC), has donated N2 billion to the traders of the rebuilt Monday Markets to assist them pick up the pieces of their lives following the burning down of their goods by fire incident.
It could be recalled that the Monday Market was razed down by fire outbreak on 26th February, 2023 were shops and stores and property worth billions of Naira were destroyed.
Announcing the donation during a courtesy call on Governor Babagana Zulum at the Government House, Maiduguri, on Monday, the Managing Director of the NEDC, Goni Alkali said ” some months ago the famous Maidugri Monday Market was razed down by fire incident where traders completely lost their goods.and shops.Today we came here to assist the traders. The NEDC is donating a grant of N2 billion to the traders.
Alkali said Governor Zulum while addressing the traders promised to rebuild the market within the shortest possible time and he has fulfilled the promise, stressing the grant is to support the traders by providing a restarter grant to them, .
Earlier, the Chairman of the Commission, Major Genera Paul Tarfa (rtd), said ” we are determined to Cary out our mandate for which the commission was established. We are here to know what and what you want us to do to the state.
General Tarfa said ” we were in Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and today we are here in Borno, very soon we would be in Adamawa and Taraba states, Borno state has done well in education, health as well as in agriculture.”.
Responding, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno promised that not a single Kobo will go into Borno state government account and commended the NEDC for it’s continued assistance to the traders, IDPs and government of the Northeast states.
He called on the commission to address the root cause of Boko Haram insurgency by investing in security, education, health, mechanized agriculture, roads and other infrastructures, if not the insurgency will wiped out not only the Northeast but the country as t large.
” The Boko Haram and ISWAP have destroyed over 500 classrooms, 800 municipal buildings, 1 million houses, displaced over 3.5 million people, over 49,000 widows and 50,000 orphans as well as destroyed property worth over $ 6.7 US dollars which 2/3 of the amount was in Borno state according to UN report”, he said.
” Let me use the opportunity to convey my deep appreciation to the commission for the assistance it has been rendering the states of the Northeast, especially the IDPs in Borno.It is my belief that the commission will buy into the renewed Hope agenda of President Tinubu”, he added.
Governor Zulum said ” concerning the N2 billion donated to the traders of the Maidugri Monday Market, I want to assure you that no single Kobo will be diverted . No single Kobo would be remitted to Borno state Government account, we have DSS and police in the High powered committee on the reconstruction of Maiduguri Monday Market, we are going to include EFCC to ensure that the money gets to the traders.
