The Gombe State Executive Council, presided over by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has approved the sum of 389 million naira for the payment of compensation to about 1, 000 property owners and organizations that will be affected by the recently signed 12 billion Naira gully erosion control project along the Federal College of Education Tech -Railway Line in the state capital.
Addressing journalists shortly after the EXCO meeting, the Commissioner of Finance and Economic Development, Mr. Muhammad Gambo Magaji, said the payment would commence immediately and would ensure seamless resettlement of affected persons and pave the way for work to begin in earnest.
Mr. Magaji said the payment was also part of the requirements of the World Bank, based on the partnership agreement.
“As part of the world Bank requirements, the government of Gombe state will pay compensation to affected individuals and also pay for the cost of resettlement and lost of business environment so as to effectively pave way for contractors to begin work,” Mr. Magaji said.
He said the beneficiaries are about 1, 000 and that there was compensation for houses and also for business premises, as well as stipends for the elderly living around that area, so that they could have a good livelihood.
Mr. Magaji also said the State Executive Council had approved the Business Enabling Reforms Action Plan, which is a critical requirement for the State Action on Business Enabling Reforms, championed by the Presidential Business Environment Council for which Gombe is a participant.
He said the Executive Council reviewed the document and approved same for publication, indicating that the State has met the stipulated criteria.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Works, Mr. Maijama’a Kallamu, said the administration of Governor Inuwa Yahaya was poised to provide befitting structures for effective teaching and learning, as well as provide other social and recreational facilities to further make the educational system in the newly established mega schools more pleasurable and inviting.
In the vein, the Commissioner of Education Prof. Aishatu Maigari, remarked that the five mega schools were Government Secondary School Dukku and Kaltungo, Government Comprehensive Secondary School Dadinkowa, Government Girls Secondary School Doma and Government Science Secondary School Gombe.
Prof. Maigari said each of the schools had its peculiar needs, which the administration of Governor Yahaya was working through a taskforce to comprehensively address.
The Commissioner of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Normadic Affairs, Dr Barnabas Malle, revealed that Governor Yahaya the established disciplary committee on farmers/herder conflicts in the state had contributed to the zero conflict incident usually experienced during harvest times.
Dr. Malle said the Gombe State Policy prohibiting open grazing from the months of October to January, equally played a significant role in mitigating and entrenching mutual understanding between the farmers and the herders.
The Commissioner of Information, Culture and Ethical Orientation, Mohammed Mijinyawa Tilde, while coordinating the press briefing, explained that all approvals at the State Executive Council were done in the best interest of the people of the state.
Oyenike Oyeniyi
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