GOMBE, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja where he expressed appreciation of the Government and people of Gombe State over some interventions his State got from the Federal government and also brought the Nigerian leader up to speed with developments in his State.
Speaking to State House Correspondents shortly after a closed door meeting with the Commander in Chief, the Governor listed three major decisions taken by the Federal government in favour of the State, including the takeover of Gombe airport by the federal government, the partnership with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for the expansion of Gombe Regional Water Scheme and the construction of a road linking Gombe with Bauchi and Yobe States among others.
On the takeover of the Gombe Airport by the Federal Government, Governor Inuwa said: “Above all, the most important development is the take over of Gombe Airport by the Federal Government which Mr. President has approved.”
He explained further that already the Nigerian Air Force is building an Air Force Base there and with the take over it means there will be more resources to maintain the facility throughout the lifespan of its operation.
The Governor told the Journalists that his administration shall see to the fact that the airport premises is expanded so that economic activities are enhanced.
On the road projects, he said: “You may recall that recently the Federal Executive Council approved five roads, very significant roads within the North-East Sub-Region through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
“For Gombe specifically, there’s a road that leads to Bauchi from Gombe. But that road equally leads to Yobe and terminates in Borno. So that means we have a thorough fare in all our states; and especially in Gombe State there’s the Wawa- Zange Grazing Reserve, a very vast expanse of land about 144000 hectares of land.”
He continued: “the grazing reserve is about the largest grazing reserve in the country that has not been developed properly. Being a grazing reserve means there’s a big expanse of forest there that may be attracting bandits and insurgents.
“So part of that contract will help in providing access for the security agencies, even the people that are living within the fringes of the area, to enhance their socio-economic activities and therefore have more security which means more prosperity to the people.”
The Governor also commended the Federal Government for its approval, of partnership with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Gombe State Government to expand the Gombe Regional water project which is the single source of drinking water to people in Gombe Metropolis and its surroundings including about 15 villages.
This, he said will bring more relief to his people as well as improve their well-being.
Under the arrangement, the federal government will contribute thirty percent and Gombe State will pay the remaining balance.
Still reeling out the thrust of his talking points with Mr. President, Inuwa Yahaya said the issue of the 1st Gombe Investment Summit (GoInvest) was also brought to the fore, disclosing that the proposed Summit would be held in October this year.
“Our desire to stage the first Investment summit in Gombe is premised on the 10-year development plan that I unveiled two years ago.
“We believe that the first Gombe investment summit will help us market Gombe State as a top investment location, and facilitate interactions between potential investors and the state, attracting both local and international investors.”
He said Gombe State, which is centrally located in the North East and acting as a logistical centre and a gateway to Northern Nigeria, Nigeria, Africa, and the global markets, is an attractive investment destination with a favourable investment environment, especially with its ranking as the Number 1 in the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
On Education, the Governor said “we have taken a cursory look at the education sector in Gombe from the sordid and pitiable position we met it when we took over the mantle of leadership to where it is presently and I feel that there’s no need to extend the state of emergency earlier declared in the sector beyond
December this year.
“This is because we have now moved away from the state of total collapse I met in 2019 that prompted us to declare a state of emergency in the education sector to a state of great competitiveness”, he said.
“From an academic pass ratio in Secondary School Certificate of 26% in 2019, Gombe State’s Students have recorded an 87% success rate in 2021” , Governor Inuwa asserted.
“We were very particular about the education sector. Recall that in September 2019, UNICEF reported that Gombe had over 500,000 out of school children. That time I even said it could be much higher.
However we have now reversed this ugly situation with more 350,000 of those numbers of students now back to school with better facilities”.
We are also establishing Mega schools across the senatorial zones that will be cosmopolitan in nature with State of the art facilities to make teaching and learning more conducive and effective with qualified and well trained teachers employed for optimal performance.
Governor Inuwa also talked about the efforts of his administration in tackling desertification and other environmental challenges, saying the Gombe Goes Green ( 3G) project, which is a flagship programme designed to plant one million trees yearly, has achieved significant results with about 4 million trees already planted and still counting. This, he said, is in addition to other measures put in place in partnership with NEWMAP and now ACReSAL among others.
The Governor also hinted that he equally discussed the political development in his state with the President.
Inuwa also presented the 3rd year scorecard and progress report document of his administration to Mr. President who was seen visibly elated with the giant strides recorded by the Governor within the 3 years of his stewardship.
