Gombe State Governor, Muhammad Inuwa-Yahaya says the State is appreciative of some interventions it got from the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Speaking to State House Correspondents shortly after he met behind closed doors with the Nigerian leader, the Governor listed three major decisions taken by the government in favour of the State, including the takeover of Gombe airport by the federal government, expansion of Gombe Water Supply project and the construction of a road linking Gombe with Bauchi and Yobe States.
“I came to thank the President for several interventions Gombe State received recently. One, you may recall that the Federal Executive Council recently approved the construction of five very significant roads within the North-East region through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. For Gombe specifically there is a road that links Gombe and Bauchi even extending to some parts of Yobe State and eventually ends in Borno State, which means we have a thorough fare through all our neighbouring States.
“Specifically in Gombe State, we have the Wawa-Zange Game Reserve which is a vast land of forests there attracting insurgents and bandits of recent so the award of that contract will help in providing access for security agencies and people living around fringes of the area to enhance their economic activities and have more security.
“Two, the federal Government has approved in 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 water to Gombe metropolis and adjoining settlements.
“Above all the most important development is the takeover of Gombe airport by the federal Government which the President has approved and already the Nigerian Airforce is building an airforce base in the airport premises and with the takeover it means there will be more facilities and resources and we shall see to the fact that it is expanded so that economic activities would be enhanced,” the Governor stated.
Centrality & Economy
The Governor also spoke about the centrality of the State in the North-East region and how it is utilising that to promote business activities for the benefit of its citizens.
He said: “Because of the relative peace which Gombe State has, more than the other boundary States, economic activities especially in agriculture, marketing and distribution and livestock development thrives better in Gombe. We are lucky that we are in the centre and we are peaceful.”
Inuwa-Yahaya said the Gombe State government has deliberately embarked on road projects across the entire State, to improve connectivity, thus boosting the economy of the State.
“What we are doing to enhance security is to encourage people and encourage connectivity. We have as a project, this government alone is investing in developing 100 kilometres of road network, which we call ‘Network 1100’ in all the 11 Local Government Areas of the State.
“So connectivity is helping in security, is helping in economic prosperity as well as providing welfare to the generality of the people,” he said.
The Governor also stated that the State recently held an investment summit, during which all stakeholders participated and discussed all issues relative to the other states of the region.
He concluded that Gombe is now on the right track towards providing the necessary support and infrastructure to the security agencies in order to bolster security and proper management of livelihoods of its people.
N.O
