The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has donated digitalized broadcasting equipment and 130 trolleys to the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and six airports in the Northeast region of the country.

Speaking on Thursday during the handing over ceremony in Maiduguri, Borno state, the Managing Director of NEDC, Muhammad Alkali said; “These equipment and other airport service tools are critical for the rebuilding process of the Northeast, which has suffered years of Boko Haram insurgency.in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

The MD said: “We are here as part of our mandate to support the rebuilding process in the Northeast. 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.

“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 cut across all sectors, we have done the same thing with the police, military, and media.”

Alkali further revealed: ” Six states in the Northeast will benefit from the 130 trolleys that will be distributed

“FAAN is also another very important agency. We all transport ourselves 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 this 130 trolley before we go into the next step.”

He said, out of the 130 trolleys, 20 were allocated to Adamawa, 20 to Bauchi, 30 to Borno, 20 to Gombe, 20 to Taraba, and 20 to Yobe states.

Handing over the items to the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, the Managing Director of the North West Development Commission, Abdullahi Maji stated that if judiciously utilised, the items will serve the information needs of people across the state and environs.

He said, “By the authority conferred on me by the MD, Northeast Development Commission to hand over the following items; 5 KW transmitter including antenna system and installation. 6-Bay Broadband antenna, two computers for on-air studio, two computers for each production studio.”

“16 channel professional console, Distribution amplifier, FM tuner, four Condenser microphones” Maji said.

He also added that the items included drone cameras, chairs, cables, printers, lightning kits, routers, consoles, plugs, connectors, laptops, and tables among others.

Responding, the Director General of the FRCN, Muhammad Bulama, said the gesture will increase the station’s broadcasting hours in the region

“For me, the most important assistant here today is the supply of Solar power to our stations. With this, it means that, our stations in the Northeast can now broadcast 12 to 15 hours per day. We say thank you to NEDC for listening and granting our request” he stated.

On her part, the Regional Manager of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari International Airport,
Maiduguri, Fatima Aliyu said the trolleys will ease the movement of passenger goods in airports across the region.

“We thank the Managing Director of the NEDC and his team for the donation of the trollies. They will really go a long way, as it will add comfort, ease the movement of passengers’ luggage to different parts of Nigeria” she said.