The newly appointed Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), Hon. Boniface Gambila Adagbila spent his first day at the office with staff and management of the authority after he had been introduced to the team by Dr Hakeem Wemah, Board Chairman of NDA.

The Ag. CEO discussed his task for the next one to two months with top management of the Authority and hinted that this would focus mainly on institutional restructuring in line with the mandate of the Authority. His meeting with staff was cordial as he admonished staff to eschew partisanship, tribalism and other vices and rather galvanize their professional effort and values at positioning the Authority as a credible, reputable state institution devoid of politics and other ills. Hon. Gambila promised an open-door policy to all staff and encouraged them to feel free to share ideas with him if these would be useful in turning things around at NDA. He pledged his dedication to putting in place the requisite institutional structures and systems to enable the authority to deliver on its mandate irrespective of who would be appointed a substantive CEO in the future. “The Authority was set up with taxpayers money and not just that of ‘northerners’ and therefore can be led by any qualified and well-meaning Ghanaian professional from any part of the country”, Hon Gambila intimated.

Staff expressed optimism about the new changes and indicated their happiness regarding the commitment of the Ag. CEO to prioritize the security and safety of staff among others. The Ag CEO and board members took turns to provide some insights to clarify the issues raised and gave the assurance that steps have been taken to ensure staff safety. He also assured staff of further engagement during the course of the month to ensure their active participation in an organizational assessment to contribute to the restructuring process.

Later in the day, Hon. Gambila, in the company of the Board chairman Dr Wemah, Deputy CEOs, Mr Stephen Engmen and Mr Patrick Seidu and a few members of the Board paid a courtesy call on the Northern Regional Minister, Hon. Shani Alhassan Saibu.