The North-East Development Commission (NEDC) has donated professional media equipment worth millions of naira to journalists who lost their tools in an accident while inspecting NEDC projects in Bauchi State. The presentation was held on Monday at the commission’s office in Gombe State.
Thirteen journalists were injured and had their equipment destroyed during the accident, which occurred while they were on an official inspection tour with NEDC officials.
The donated items included Canon and Sony video cameras, tripods, Samsung Galaxy smartphones, iPhones, and other essential media tools.
Minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Maigari-Ahmadu, commended the NEDC for its prompt intervention, saying the gesture showed that the Federal Government values journalists’ welfare and their role in promoting transparency and accountability in reporting development projects.
Managing Director of NEDC, Mohammed Goni-Alkali, said the donation was meant to enable the affected journalists to resume work after recovery. “These journalists were on official duty assessing and reporting NEDC projects when the unfortunate incident occurred.
As a commission, we consider it a moral responsibility to support them and ensure they are not further disadvantaged,” he said.
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The National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Alhassan Yahya, described the NEDC’s response as commendable, noting the support provided from the accident scene through medical care and the replacement of destroyed equipment.
He urged the commission to consider enrolling journalists in the NUJ Life Premium Insurance Scheme to strengthen welfare support.
NUJ Bauchi State Council Chairman, Sa’idu Umar, expressed appreciation to the commission, describing the intervention as rare and impactful, and said it would boost the morale of journalists working under difficult and risky conditions.