NCDC moves to roll out projects, recruit 100 staff

From Leo Abel, Lafia

The North Central Development Commission (NCDC) is moving to roll out its first major development projects across the region after securing procurement clearances for priority interventions, as it prepares to recruit at least 100 staff and commence full-scale operations.

The development signals a shift by the commission from nearly 12 months of consultations, needs assessment and institution-building to actual project implementation across the six North Central states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Already, procurement clearances and Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) “No Objection” approvals have been secured for priority projects, paving the way for their implementation.

The commission’s intervention programme covers critical areas, including roads and other infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, security, resettlement and rehabilitation of displaced persons and environmental restoration.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NCDC, Dr Cyril Yiltsen Tsenyil, said the commission could no longer afford further delays after spending its first year building the institutional and strategic framework required to deliver its mandate.

Tsenyil spoke during the formal handover of the commission’s headquarters in Nasarawa State to the contractor handling its remodelling, which is estimated at more than N400 million.

The contractor has been given 16 weeks to complete the work as NCDC prepares to recruit personnel and expand operations.

“We don’t have the time. I told you already, we are 12 months old. We don’t have the time and the latitude. And because of the need for us to hit the ground running, we appeal to you that you have to do this job as quickly as possible.”

Tsenyil explained that adequate office accommodation had become critical to the next phase of the commission’s operations, particularly recruitment.

“You cannot recruit staff without a space for them to stay to work, and so you need to accommodate your staff adequately,” he said.

Executive Director, Projects, Princess Atika Ajanah, disclosed that the remodelled headquarters would accommodate at least 100 employees once recruitment begins.

“The previous occupants, they had over 160 staff, and we are looking at—we are housing not less than 100 staff here by the time establishment commences,” Ajanah said.

The move towards project implementation comes after the commission spent much of its first year consulting governments and other stakeholders across the region to identify development gaps and establish priorities.

Tsenyil said NCDC had visited all six North Central states, with only the FCT outstanding, and held discussions with governors, traditional institutions and development partners.

The engagements also involved the World Bank, United Nations, European Union, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, among others.

“What we have been doing for the last 12 months was pure consultation because we need to deepen the relationship between NCDC with also international and national institutions,” he said.

The commission is also pursuing partnerships with agencies including the Rural Electrification Agency, SMEDAN and NIRSAL to support interventions in agriculture, economic empowerment and infrastructure.

Its transition to implementation is expected to gather momentum after the maiden North Central Stakeholders Summit scheduled for September 14 and 15, where a proposed 20-year Economic, Infrastructural and Social Development Plan for the region will be subjected to stakeholders’ scrutiny.

“That is the platform where we will all assemble the entire key stakeholders in the North Central geopolitical region to really look at our document, which is a development roadmap for the region, 20-year development roadmap,” Tsenyil said.

On the headquarters project, the NCDC boss warned the contractor that the 16-week deadline must not be achieved at the expense of quality.

“The bill of quantity is very specific, the design is very specific. We insist that you follow the design adequately so that we have a very befitting office complex,” he said.

He said professionals and relevant oversight institutions would monitor the work to ensure conformity with specifications.

Ajanah said the remodelling would provide offices for the commission’s five directorates and executive directors and create a clear separation between the NCDC headquarters and the adjoining UBEC facility.

The contractor, Geodata Construction Site World Services Limited, pledged to deliver within the stipulated period.

Its representative, Engineer Jim Jibril, said equipment and machinery were already being mobilised to the site.

“I am assuring everybody here, if you come here in the next 15 to 16 weeks, you are going to see a new face of this building. I can bet you that,” he said.

Tsenyil thanked President Bola Tinubu for establishing the commission and Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, for providing accommodation and other logistical support for its take-off.