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Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo on Friday laid the foundation for the Domagric Integrated Rice Mill in Yalmaltu Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State.
The event was part of the Vice President’s one-day visit to the state during which he also attended the closing of the Gombe Investment Summit, which began on Wednesday at the International Conference Centre in Gombe.
Located in the Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park in Dadin Kowa, the Domeagric Rice Mill is one of many companies being built in the 1,000-hectare park.
Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, who accompanied Prof. Osinbajo to the park, explained that Domeagric was one of the companies that the Gombe State government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with towards establishing their businesses in the state.
Yahaya said the state government “Did due diligence,” on the company and established its “Readiness by seeing particulars of their import of machinery and equipment for this factory.”
According to the Governor, there is hope that by December the first phase of the industrial park will be completed and “We are making sure that there are factories that will be kick-starting activity in this very important place.”
He said that the Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park would provide the basic infrastructure needed for investors to set up businesses that would help in advancing the economy of the state.
“The world over it is the vision, coupled with the determination and conviction of leaders that transform societies. We have seen that in many countries, even here, it is possible.
“That is why in Gombe State, we dream big, we think big and we plan big and we hope to execute it in a big way so that the whole of our society including the neighbouring states and indeed the country will benefit from the growth of commerce and industry that is available because of the abundance of resources, mineral, human and any other resource you can think about.”
Governor Yahaya also spoke on the 144,000-hectare Wawa-Zange Grazing Reserve in the state, which is would “Provide for businesses in terms of livestock production and anything involved in the livestock value chain.”
Appealing for support from the federal government, the Governor stated that Gombe is one of the three states in Nigeria with low allocation from the Federation Account and generates little from internal revenue.
“We need to partner, and in the spirit of partnership, development can get to any state in this country.
“Partnering between the state, LG and the federal government can really help in that direction, particularly on the issue to do with grazing reserves in order to avoid farmer-herder clashes.
“There’s a need for us to fast-track action and make sure that we do the needful.”
Describing the Vice President as an “Enabler” who has an interest in the contribution of the private sector to the economy, Governor Yahaya said the Nigerian economy would not grow without leveraging private businesses.
“If we have to answer the name “Giant of Africa” we must industrialize, we must engage and we must provide facilities needed for the people so that we can benefit from one another.
“Businesses need to have mutual cooperation between the market and the producers and what we are doing is trying to facilitate attaining that,” he added.
The Vice President who also attended the closing of the maiden Gombe State Investment Summit, said that effective collaboration between federal and state governments with the private sector is a sure catalyst for boosting economic growth, diversification and improved productivity
Prof. Osinbajo noted that improving the business environment is critical to “The prosperity of our great country.”
He advised state governments to boost economic growth and investments in their respective states by approaching development like a Sovereign State while improving the business environment for small businesses to thrive.
“The future of our country rests in the hands of business owners, the entrepreneurs, all over this State and all of our country.
“The successes that we have seen here in Gombe are substantially on account of the effective collaboration of the private sector, the States and the Federal Government. Our Federation benefits our people when the States and Federal authorities alongside private actors think and work together.”
The VP highlighted significant improvements recorded by the Gombe State Government
“As a progressive government, we remain committed to policies and reform efforts that are geared towards economic diversification and improved productivity.”
Speaking on the nation-state nexus in development, using Gombe as an example, the Vice President noted that it was “Fascinating that Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has approached the development of the State by thinking as a Sovereign State as opposed to thinking as a sub-national.”
The Vice President said the Governor’s vision to draw up a 10-year development plan – Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), and determination towards creating an enabling business environment, were key pivots to economic growth.
“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.
“So, 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 like you would plan the growth of a country. And I am very happy that Governor Inuwa Yahaya is doing that.”
The Vice President noted that Gombe State has already started reaping the rewards of its approach towards development.
“One of those is the remarkable feat of attaining the first position in the Sub-national Ease of Doing Business Baseline Survey Report of 2021. I am also informed that Gombe State was recently invited by the world-renowned Royal Institute of International Affairs, popularly known as the Chatham House, to share its experience implementing the State’s health system reforms.
“These validations from different bodies, local and international could not have come by accident.”
Commending the State Governor for his strong leadership and commitment, the Vice President added that Governor Yahaya also commissioned a Needs Assessment Survey, which he noted was “A vital first step towards developing a solid roadmap of reforms and programmes for the progress that we see today.”
Speaking on the State’s investments in human capital and physical infrastructure development, the Vice President stated that these investments “Are the strong foundations for the rapid development led by small and medium enterprises.
“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,” he added.
The VP also disclosed that Gombe State is at the centre of the business enabling reforms, “Which informs your standing as the number 1 State in the sub-national Ease of Doing Business Survey Report ranking. As 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.”
Particularly, the Vice President emphasized that Gombe’s progress was evidence that “Government must catalyze economic growth with both policy measures and brick and mortar.”
Explaining further on rewards of investment in human capital and infrastructure, Prof. Osinbajo noted the commencement in 2021 of the 1000-hectare Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park in the State, which the VP also visited before he left.
“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, designed to accommodate 10 mega factories. 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,” he said.
The Vice President also urged for government and the private sector to leverage the opportunities with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
Governor Inuwa had led a delegation of top officials of the State, traditional rulers and other dignitaries to receive the Vice President at the Gombe Airport.
Prof. Osinbajo was also accompanied on the visit by Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.
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