KEY POINTS
• NEDC says it will review its processes to sustain its ISO certification and improve operational standards.
• The commission is considering higher certifications as part of efforts to strengthen its systems and delivery.
• Management staff at the retreat are reviewing projects and processes against the commission’s master plan and sustainability goals.
MAIN STORY
The North East Development Commission says it is reviewing its operations to sustain its ISO certification and strengthen the quality of its projects and programmes across the region.
The Director General of NEDC, Malam Mohammed Alkali, disclosed this at the ISO 2026 Executive Retreat held on Monday in Abuja.
Alkali said the commission, which had been operating for more than seven years, had reached a stage where its processes needed continuous review to maintain existing standards and improve its performance.
He said the retreat brought senior management staff together to assess the commission’s operations, develop workable ideas and examine the possibility of securing higher ISO certifications.
“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.
The NEDC Director General urged participants to use the retreat to examine existing practices and develop ideas that could improve the commission’s operations and project delivery.
Acting Head of Governance and Compliance Service Reform Unit, Ms Fatima Dalhatu, said the commission needed to make ISO standards part of its everyday operations rather than treating certification as an isolated achievement.
She said quality, accountability, integrity, safety and sustainability should become embedded in how the commission carries out its responsibilities.
“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.
Ms Kadija Mongonu of the Strategic Communication Unit described the retreat as timely, noting that the commission had secured five internationally recognised ISO certifications.
She said sustaining the certifications was important as NEDC moved from transition and expansion towards sustainable development under its master plan.
“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.
Mr Ali Usman, Head of Special Projects, Operations Directorate, said the retreat was also necessary to ensure that projects, programmes and schemes under the commission’s master plan were implemented effectively.
He said the master plan contained 11 pillars and four overlapping phases, with its projects and programmes designed for communities across the North East.
“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.
Participants at the retreat were drawn from the six states of the North East geopolitical zone.
THE ISSUES
- Sustaining ISO certification requires NEDC to continually review its processes rather than treat certification as a one time achievement. The commission says the retreat is part of that review.
- NEDC is seeking to embed quality, accountability, integrity, safety and sustainability into its regular operations, with management describing this as the longer term objective beyond certification.
- The review is also linked to the commission’s master plan, which contains 11 pillars and four overlapping phases covering its projects, programmes and schemes across the North East.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
“By implication, we have to now keep that standard and improve on it. And that is what we want to do going forward,” – Malam Mohammed Alkali, Director General, NEDC
“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,” – Fatima Dalhatu, Acting Head, Governance and Compliance Service Reform Unit, NEDC
“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,” – Ali Usman, Head of Special Projects, Operations Directorate, NEDC
WHAT’S NEXT
NEDC said it would work to sustain its existing ISO standards, improve its processes and explore higher certifications while aligning its project delivery with its master plan and sustainable development objectives.
BOTTOM LINE
NEDC is treating its ISO certification as a continuing operational standard rather than an endpoint. The commission says it wants quality, accountability and sustainability to become embedded in the delivery of its projects and programmes.
