VP Osinbajo lauds Gov Yahaya’s development strides in Gombe State
By Ben Ngwakwe, Gombe
Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo said it’s fascinating how Governor Muhammadu Yahaya, has approached the development of the State by thinking like a Sovereign state as opposed to thinking as a subnational.
This explains why he took the trouble to draw up a 10-year development plan, an MTEF, and takes the issues of creating an enabling business environment seriously. And this is as it should be. Gombe could rank very easily as a Sovereign State; its GDP is almost three times the GDP of Gambia and it is almost at the same level as the GDP of Liberia.
Speaking at the three-day Gombe State Investment Summit held in Gombe, Friday, the Vice President said, “when you compare this State to actual Sovereign States, you will see clearly that the only way to plan the growth of this State is to plan it as you would plan the growth of a country. And I am very happy that Governor Inuwa Yahaya is doing that”.
Prof Osinbajo also said that the focus and his determination to improve the fortunes of Gombe State, especially by positioning it for investments from both foreign and local investors, thanked all of the guests from the private sector and investment community; whose presence and participation have contributed significantly to the success of the summit.
He said, “this inaugural Summit, GoInvest, is consistent with Gombe State’s mission to create an enabling environment for sustainable prosperity, peace, cohesion and an all-inclusive development for the people of the State, as contained in the Development Agenda for Gombe State (DEVAGOM) 2021 – 2030.”
“The Development Plan itself is perhaps one of the few by a subnational to articulate a detailed long-term vision and plan towards the transformation of the State. In addition, the State developed a full Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) covering the last two years 2020-2022. So, DEVAGOM 2021-2030, is both a visioning exercise and a concrete road map to the long-term growth and sustainable development of Gombe State,” he said .
He further said that to harvest the first fruits of the plan, one of them is the remarkable feat of attaining the first position in the Subnational Ease of Doing Business Baseline Survey Report of 2021 while Gombe State was recently invited by the world-renowned Royal Institute of International Affairs, popularly known as the Chatham House, to share its experience in implementing the State’s health system reforms. These validations from different bodies, local and international could not have come by accident.
According to Osinbajo, “they are a product of the strong leadership and commitment that have been demonstrated by Your Excellency and I think this became even clearer even as Governor-elect in 2019, Your Excellency commissioned a Needs Assessment Survey – a vital first step towards developing a solid roadmap of reforms and programmes for the progress that we see today.”
He recalled that just barely eighteen months ago, he was in Gombe for the 27th edition of the MSME Clinics, where he visited the inspiring groundnut oil and rice processing hub, where tons of groundnut oil and hundreds of bags of rice are being produced on a daily basis.
“Today, we can confidently say that Gombe is taking its investment drive to the ‘next level’ with this Summit. The business environment is critical to the prosperity of our great country. (The Hon. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy captured the context very well, that the business environment, what we do and what we are able to do for the private sector, are critical for the prosperity of our great country). This has become even more critical as we have an incredible opportunity with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
“The AfCFTA stands to impact the Nigerian economy in several ways. One of the objectives of the Agreement fundamentally aligns with the National Development Plan and of course, with the plan that has just been laid out by Gombe State. In boosting the competitiveness of Nigeria’s exports, the trade agreement serves as a solid platform for cooperation on infrastructure, development, investment, technology transfer and innovation.”
“That is why in the past six years, the Federal Government has aggressively pursued, under the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) initiatives, the creation of an environment that allows Nigerian businesses, at every level, to operate without the bottlenecks and drawbacks that have come to characterize their interface with agencies and regulators.”
He pointed out that Gombe State is at the centre of the business enabling reforms, which informs their standing as the number one State in the subnational ease of doing business survey report ranking, stressing that the development was captured by responses from the private sector in the report, Gombe leads the frontier in Infrastructure and Security indicators, as well as in Skills and Labour indicators.
Osinbajo also said that the State also ranked second in the regulatory environment indicator, among the implemented reforms which led to that result, included the waiver on business premises registration for all new businesses, and the downward review of Right-of-Way charges from N1,500 to N145. Businesses also reported that registering property can be completed in about 7 days in Gombe State,” he further revealed.
“Gombe State also provides incentives such as the free allocation of land to new businesses with an investment of at least N100 million. Such businesses are also able to enjoy waivers on annual ground rent at the initial stages of their establishment.
“These reforms are being completed against the background of a stable security situation in the State and investments in critical infrastructure and human development. But perhaps in my own view, the most poignant affirmation of the belief of Gombe State in the notion that government must catalyse economic growth with both policy measures and brick and mortar, is the commencement in 2021 of the 1000-hectare Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park. We are now told that the first phase of it is ready – over 369 hectares of that is ready.”
This is to be a purpose-built fully resourced manufacturing and industrial processing hub, he said, which was designed to accommodate 10 mega factories and the project is important for the value-added functions of the factories and accretion to both internal and national revenue and the jobs that it will create -10,000 direct and 100,000 indirect jobs, respectively.
“I continue to follow the progress of the Gombe State Health Insurance Scheme as well, which was only launched a few months before the MSME Clinics and has now enrolled 100,000 residents including over 40,000 poor and vulnerable under the GoHealth scheme, these investments in human capital development alongside physical infrastructure development are the strong foundations for the rapid development led by small and medium enterprises. This aligns with the vision of this State, to be the industrial hub of the Northeast of our country.”, Osinbajo noted
“As a progressive government, we remain committed to policies and reform efforts that are geared towards economic diversification and improved productivity. We are proud of the giant strides that Gombe State has recorded so far, but more importantly, we are confident of the successful results of the programmes currently being implemented by the State Government and those that are underway in the areas of health, industrialization, and agriculture.”
“We must all remain dedicated and focused especially towards the economic diversification and improved productivity of our country. So, we are proud of the giant strides that Gombe State has recorded so far. And we hope that all of what we will be seeing in the next few years will be even more poignant and even much better than what we are seeing today.”
“It is also evident to some of us that this State is poised for greater things in the next few years, and from what we see currently being implemented by the State Government, it is clear that what we will see in another couple of years will be much better than what we have seen in the past few years.”
According to him, Gombe has become a reference point for business climate reforms which encourages existing and potential investors, local and foreign, to embrace the opportunities available in the State.
He once again thanked the business community – private sector and international investors for standing up to the current local and global challenges of doing business today, adding that the future of the country rests in the hands of business owners, entrepreneurs all over the State and country.
“The successes that we have seen here in Gombe are substantially on account of the effective collaboration of the private sector, the State Government and the Federal Government. Our Federation benefits our people when the States and Federal authorities alongside private actors think and work together..” he observed
He re-emphasise the Federal Government’s pledge to work with the Gombe State Government, to give them all the support that they needed in order to ensure that your businesses and the business environment succeed.
