Gombe Guber: Gov Yahaya election affirmed a S’Court

The Supreme Court on Friday, dismissed an appeal by Jibrin Barde of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)challenging the election of Governor Muhammad Yahaya of Gombe state. The Apex court lead judgment read by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, unanimously dismissed an appeal by Barde for want of merit, incompetent and liable to be dismissed. Consequently, the apex court has affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, which had in November, 2023, upheld the election of Yahaya as Governor of Gombe State. The appellate court had upheld Yahaya’s election after dismissing two separate appeals challenging his declaration as winner of the March 18, governorship election in the state.

New Year: Gombe Governor Pardons 39 Prisoners

In a move marking the New Year, Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has extended clemency to 39 inmates serving sentences across correctional facilities within the state.  In a statewide broadcast on Monday, the governor emphasized the significance of this gesture in providing these individuals with an opportunity to reform and re-enter society as better citizens. Highlighting the decision’s basis on the recommendations of the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, Governor Yahaya revealed that 26 inmates would receive unconditional pardons, while the sentences of the remaining 13 have been commuted to shorter durations. Governor Yahaya expressed hope that those benefiting from this clemency would seize the chance to start anew and contribute positively to society.  This initiative aligns with the administration’s commitment to rehabilitation and offering a second chance to individuals seeking to turn their lives around.

Ray of hope as Gov Inuwa mounts the NSGF saddle

“If you possess the stuff of a champion, you can’t stay too long in the abbys of the minnows”. The above aphorism is a terse formulation of a truth that captures the fate of Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON, when his colleagues across the northern region unanimously elected him to chair the highly influential Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF). Governor Inuwa took over from the immediate past governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong, with effect from May 29, 2023. The former chairman of the forum had, while handing over to the new chairman, said Governor Inuwa was elected to chair the NSGF in view of his experience, sterling leadership qualities and commitment to good governance. That Inuwa was unanimously accepted to lead the governors from Northern Nigeria under the auspices of the Northern States Governors’ Forum is not fortuitous at all. It was a deliberate consensus of a people who have come to recognise the sterling leadership ambience of the man who shines in tandem with the slogan of his state, Jewel in the Savannah. The Gombe governor has been consistent in terms of performance. He has been outstanding in political dynamism. He has been persistent in the delivery of quality projects that have drawn the binoculars of writers and historiographers to Gombe State across the globe. He has become an epitome of political altruism. He stands shoulder high among political promise keepers, and among nobilities he is a super power. All these attributes cannot be overlooked. The governors from Northern Nigeria are, therefore, not toying with the destiny of this great zone in anyway. They needed a man that is capable of taking the region to the next level of infrastructural advancement.Yes; in Inuwa they found worthy treasures. The Gombe governor has crossed the threshold of history in governance and performance. and he is creditably recording superlative achievements in his State to merit the historic position. Inuwa symbolises tangible hope, palpable progress and capable leadership. With him in the saddle, there is now a new horizon of industrial transmogrification of Northern Nigeria. Under the chairmanship of the Dan Majen Gombe, I see the North shining so brilliantly as the true Northern Star. While taking over the mantle of leadership from Lalong, Governor Inuwa did not mince words when he said, “We will work hard to ensure that we catch up with the rest of the country, possibly with the developed parts of the world so that our people will feel the impact of good governance we all pursue”. He also said that the NSGF will continue to work with past leadership of the forum in order to consolidate on the gains so far recorded to properly place it on the smooth trajectory of social cohesion, economic emancipation and infrastructural development. Governor Inuwa Yahaya expressed delight with the commencement of drilling activities in the Lake Chad Basin which has brought to three drilling sites in the North, including Kolmani in Gombe and Bauchi as well as the one in Nasarawa State. He assured that the forum will see to the actualisation of the exploration of the large oil and gas deposits in the North for the benefit of the people. Inuwa is a born leader who does not joke with his beat at all. He may look unassuming, but he’s a serious minded personality who cannot stand mediority. He has no patience with non-perfomers.You have to be downright hardworking and finicky in your delivery of assignments to earn membership of his team. He thinks on his toes and philosophises upstairs about the best option always and settles for it. If you look at the rapturous applause Inuwa Yahaya has been receiving, with awards for quality output, you cannot but agree with the governors from Northern Nigeria that they have found a worthy leader in the Dan Majen Gombe. Afterall, governance is all about people and what their needs are. Inuwa stands so tall at the roll call of promise-keeping governors in Nigeria. Like a performance generalissimo, Inuwa always has a chart handy where he keeps gazing at the list of promises he made to the electorate. He keeps all and stick to delivery timelines. Talking about development and infrastructure, Inuwa Yahaya has a ready blueprint that any state in Northern Nigeria will gladly love to replicate. When the issue of stopping nomadic herdsmen’s movement across Nigeria came to the national fore, Inuwa Yahaya was the one who went to the presidency and put down Gombe State’s 144,000 hectares Wawa-Zange Grazing Reserve as a panacea for the debacle. His infrastructural pursuit is worthy of emulation. In Inuwa’s Gombe, all the eleven local government areas have at least a hundred kilometers of road network under the Network 11-100 Project. The ease with which people and goods move in Gombe State is quite fascinating. He initiated a 10-year Development Plan for Gombe State, the first in the 26-year history of the state called the Jewel in the Savannah. He itemized the timelines for attainable landmarks and put capable individuals in charge of each task, monitoring them like a farmer monitoring his very first harvest. Go-Health is an initiative that brought quality healthcare to the high and low in Gombe State. Governor Inuwa’s exemplary execution of the COVID-19 programme and subsequent commendations by WHO and UNICEF merited his invitation to the world acclaimed Chartham House to share his Universal Health Coverage with the whole world. Under him Gombe now boasts of three specialist hospitals and 114 functional primary healthcare centers among other healthcare facilities. His education and public service reforms are huge. GOINVEST, the first ever investment summit in Gombe State, has turned the Jewel in the Savannah to investment destination at the moment. Both local and international development partners and investors are falling head over heels to have a taste of Nigeria’s investment bride.Yes, you can say this about Gombe State without equivocation. Gombe State has won Nigeria’s Best State in the Ease of Doing Business award back to

Gov Inuwa’s new 4-year term, sign of greater things for Gombe  

Gombe State’s ascendancy to preeminence in the national and international political terrain under Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya is quite remarkable and historic. The remarkable successes recorded by the Inuwa administration reflect a determination to create a new Gombe with limitless opportunities, thereby remaking the socio-economic and infact political fabric of the people towards a shared journey of good governance, prosperity and possibilities. At every event or fora these days, Gombe State enjoys a prime of place, especially when the issues of good governance constitute the subject matter. Just recently, specifically at the farewell dinner organized by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), in honor of outgoing governors, Inuwa was accosted by the media and asked to share his views on governance, policies and development. Of course true to his character he didn’t disappoint.  He emphasised the need for leaders to remain focused and not to allow distraction of any sort or form, maintaining that “it is the leaders that guide and control the movement and we should therefore be on the positive side to direct and help the people through our policies and programmes”. Speaking on his ‘magic wand’ that saw to the incredible transformation of Gombe State in less than 4 years of his stewardship, Governor Inuwa said, ” We thank God we didn’t go in blindfolded.  We went with a clear mission and vision, and Ahamdulillah we’ve been able to cultivate the grounds on which we are able to impact positively on the lives of our people through the projects and programmes we’re executing”. The governor said sheer determination, hardwork and the passion to deliver good services to the people were largely responsible for the giant strides being witnessed in Gombe State under his stewardship. Gombe has transformed into a beacon of accelerated growth and development, firmly establishing itself as the benchmark for progress. Step by step, it is attaining the position we envisioned for it. This remarkable achievement is a direct outcome of the Governor’s unwavering determination and vision to forge a legacy that  propels the state towards becoming one of the top ten strongest economies in the country. The pervading optimism in Gombe State is now giving the people a shared hope for a brighter tomorrow. The power of leadership and vision have reshaped our collective being, now dwelling more on the big picture of what Gombe State can be if we believe in ourselves and do the right things in a focused manner as we follow resolutely the development trajectory carefully drawn and being executed to fully harness our potentials. In the true spirit of our renaissance, therefore, I am sure everyone who has followed the enviable turnaround in education, healthcare delivery, infrastructural development, agriculture and human capital development in the state will agree with the realities of a new era of excellence. Let’s start with the cosmopolitanism posture of Inuwa. Gombe, the state capital, like most of the other towns around the state, has now grown phenomenally big into a modern city with mind-blowing infrastructure and amenities as envisioned. The state is certainly making history. The educational status of Gombe which was at the base among the 36 states of Nigeria, with secondary school students’ success ratio of 29 percent, is now at 87 percent. Thanks to Inuwa’s intervention through the state of emergency on education.  Just this year, the Inuwa-led administration pumped over N4 billion into the sector and declared an end to the state of emergency owing to the successes recorded. Last year, the Dan Majen Gombe was on the podium at the United Kingdom’s renowned Royal Institute of International Affairs known as Chatham House. The Chatham House is a political turf of World Leaders. Inuwa was found worthy of being called upon to showcase the good works he has been doing in Gombe State’s health sector. His brilliance in Chatham House is still reverberating in Nigeria’s political circles. On security matters, Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, Ahmed Baba, at the first Security Summit organized by Gombe State adjudged the Jewel State as a state to emulate in terms of peace and balanced security status. From all indications, the next four years will come with so much improvement in the quality of life of the people. This is a major point of considerable effect on why government exists and what should really matter in our evaluation of leadership as a harbinger of change. From this standpoint, it is clear that the Inuwa Yahaya administration is strategically building a new Gombe State that is innovative, competitive and prosperous. The Gombe people are witnesses to the massive building of schools, upgrade of boarding schools and equipping them, enhanced investment in constructing many roads through his flagship project, the network 11-100 and economic sense of boosting agriculture, building and equipping various hospitals, revitalization of healthcare centres statewide, providing water for all, solid empowerment to unleash the creative energy of our people in business. A ground breaking idea of establishing the Gombe Industrial Park which ultimately will attract a cluster of multiple industries that will create thousands of good jobs is fantastic. During Governor Inuwa Yahaya’s initial term, he achieved a remarkable transformation of Gombe state, leaving no critical sector untouched. His dedication ensured the state’s continued prosperity. As he prepares to begin his second term in a few days, we eagerly anticipate an even more aggressive focus on infrastructure development, healthcare, education, and other vital areas of growth and development. Inded the future of Gombe State is very positive and one is inclined to believe convincingly that the Inuwa Yahaya-led administration has done exceedingly well in its first term and the pervading optimism is now giving the people a shared hope for a brighter tomorrow as the  Governor sets to be inaugurated for another four year term. *Misilli is the Director-General, Press Affairs, Government House, Gombe

Gombe Govt seeks partnership with IsDB to boost private sector investments

In furtherance of its commitment to woo more investments into the state, the Gombe State Government under the leadership of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has sent a special delegation to the ongoing Islamic Development Bank’s Private Sector Forum and Annual Meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Gombe State delegation, led by the Chairman of the State’s Investment and Property Development Company, Dr. Umaru Kwairanga (Sarkin Fulanin Gombe) met with the IsDB’s Team comprising of Dr. Mansur Mukhtar, Vice President; Dr. Ahsaru Kibria, Country Manager; Mr. Mahmodou Alpha Bah, IsDB Nigeria Office; and Mr. Abdulkadir Baba-Ahmed, from IsDB VPs Office, Jeddah. The discussions between the two delegations centred around the ways through which the reputable financial institution will deploy its resources and expertise to support the Gombe State Government in critical areas of economic development. Specifically, the two teams discussed ways through which IsDB will actively participate in the next Gombe State Investment Summit (Goinvest 2.0) following the success recorded by the maiden summit held in December last year. The Gombe delegation also sought the IsDB’s support for the Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park through Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission’s investor drive and for the bank to participate in the formal commissioning of the park which is coming soon. The Park Located in Dadinkowa, some 40km away from the state capital covers a thousand hectares of land and is provided with facilities and amenities like water, road network and power, guaranteeing a favourable atmosphere for industries to thrive. On the Gombe Green Sukuk, the IsDB assured to fully support the pre-development work, inventory aggregation, and the full implementation of the programme. In the area of Agriculture, the Bank through its agricultural team will directly support the livestock-value-chain and the anti-venom manufacturing plant in the state to reduce the devastating effects of snake bites and other related health risks on the people of the state. Balanga Dam, the second largest Dam in the state with a lot of potential is also set to benefit from the collaborative efforts. The Balanga Dam Project will be implemented with a detailed business plan and investor proposals thereby exploiting its full potential for the growth and development of Gombe State. The great Wawa-zange Grazing Reserve will also receive the needed attention. it is agreed that Gombe State will support MercyCorps to fast-track the development of the Business Case through the concession of the Project, putting the reserve to good use. The IsDB’s team assured of their group’s readiness to support the state in all the potential areas of investments and interventions, expressing confidence that the state has proven to be a dependable development partner. The Gombe State delegation had Dr. Ishiyaku Mohammed, Special Adviser to the Governor on Budget, Planning, and Development Partner Coordination; and Haj. Aisha Bako, Managing Director Onyx Consultant