The North-East Development Commission (NEDC) says it is committed to sustaining and improving on its certification by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).
The Director-General of NEDC, Malam Mohammed Alkali, stated this at the ISO 2026 Executive Retreat on Monday in Abuja.
Alkali said the commission had been working for more than seven years and needed to continually review its processes to improve its operations.
“Sometimes when you work like that, you need to rebuild. Anything that is not rebuilt will not get done.
“So, we are here with our management staff for them to check and see what we are doing and come up with ideas on how we are going to move forward.
“This is because we are now a mature commission.
“ISO gave us the signature that we are doing well, meaning we have done something right and we are satisfied.
“By implication, we have to now keep that standard and improve on it. And that is what we want to do going forward,” he said.
He explained that the retreat brought together senior managers to discuss the way forward, improve the commission’s operations and explore the possibility of obtaining higher certifications.
Alkali urged the participants to engage in effective discussions and come up with workable ideas that would move the commission and its projects forward.
Also speaking, the Acting Head of Governance and Compliance Service Reform Unit, Ms Fatima Dalhatu, said the commission would continue to uphold ISO standards until they became part of its culture.
“ISO is not something new to all of us, but I think we just need to be intentional and understand that the things we are doing are actually part of ISO, so that we can be able to improve in our delivery.
“And that is important because ISO is not separate from something you do. It is actually part of what we do at the commission.
“The certification was just a milestone for NEDC, but the destination is a culture where quality, accountability, integrity, safety and sustainability become simply how we do things,” Dalhatu said.
Similarly, Ms Kadija Mongonu, of the Strategic Communication Unit of the commission, said the retreat was timely.
“The NEDC has achieved a great feat; five ISO certifications are globally recognised, and this is something that we are proud of and hopefully trying to ensure that we sustain.
“This is a gradual shift based on our master plan, from the shift between transition and expansion, so now it is up to sustainable development.
“This will lead us to ensure that all our projects, programmes and schemes are sustainably developed,” she said.
Also speaking, Mr Ali Usman, Head of Special Projects, Operations Directorate, said the retreat came at the right time, given the need to execute projects, programmes and schemes diligently.
“This is because we have a master plan that we are speaking to. That is like 11 pillars and then four overlapping phases.
“And all the projects, programmes and schemes in the master plan are for the people of the North-East. We are here as a commission because of them.
“So, we need to make sure all our projects, programmes and schemes are being delivered qualitatively, and then we equally need to take cognisance of the environment because of climate change issues,” Usman said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that participants were drawn from the six states of the North-East geopolitical zone. (NAN)
