Gov Yahaya unveils 10-year plan for Gombe

Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State on Tuesday unveiled a 10-year development plan aimed at tackling challenges and transforming the state.

Gov Yahaya said the plan christened: “Development Agenda for Gombe State (DEVAGOM)” was a roadmap for the transformation of the state in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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He stated that DEVAGOM was an attempt to harness the immense potentials by taking advantage of emerging opportunities and tackling challenges and threats in order to realise developmental objectives of the state.

The governor said, “DEVAGOM was borne out of our commitment to plan and implement people-oriented policies and programmes. The assessment was the beginning of a bottom-up stakeholders’ consultation process from the unit, ward, local government and state levels.”

Gov Yahaya added that to ensure the success of DEVAGOM, his administration had put in place the necessary structures and institutional reforms that would drive its effective implementation.

At the occasion, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, said his ministry would support the state government on the implementation of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) component of the plan.

Dr Pantami also disclosed that plans had been activated to develop a national development plan for the country, currently being developed by his ministry and that of budget and national planning, with a short-term plan from 2021 to 2030 and a long-term plan that would cover 2021 to 2050.

Dr Pantami explained that, “The development of the policy or the plan is one thing while the implementation is another. So, the main challenge on the table now is to come together as stakeholders and ensure that we go beyond the development and ensure its successful implementation.”

In a goodwill message, the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, called on the state government to invest on youths and women to help them reach their full potentials.

She added that the people of the state should be carried along in the implementation of the plan.

The event was attended by the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agbo, UN Resident Coordinator for Nigeria, Edward Kallon, and other stakeholders who participated via zoom.