Gombe State Government has earmarked N17 billion for the construction of the Gombe Ultramodern Industrial Park, to promote medium and small-scale enterprises in the state.
The State Governor, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya, revealed this after a closed-door engagement with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, on Wednesday, in Abuja.
He stated that the procurement processes for the industrial park had been completed and that the project would be sited on 347 hectares of land.
The state government would continue to support the business and other sectors to boost socio-economic activities in the state, Yahaya said.
“We realized that for business to thrive, you must facilitate and give adequate support to all aspects, be it security, healthcare, education, skills and trade development, which our people had since keyed into.
“Being a peasant farmers’ state, we have encouraged our people to indulge in agro-entrepreneurship and processing of agricultural produce.
“That is why there are a lot of business activities and little wonder we’ve gotten to the top as number one, because of all those aspects that we have been able to take care of,” he stated.
On security, the governor stated that security of lives and property would remain paramount to his administration.
He said: “We thank God for helping us as far as the issue of security is concerned.
“We are in the midst of the North-East and we are aware of the challenges the frontline states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa are facing so we’ve tried as much as possible to live in peace and harmony.
“This is despite our religious differences, social difference and other social differences that normally cause friction among the people and we have gotten the understanding of our people and with the support of the security agencies, we’ve been able to relate well and manage security in Gombe State.
“We are happy and by the grace of God we shall try to sustain that going forward.”
Commenting on the recent happenings in Jos, Plateau, where some travelers were killed, the governor said people should remain calm and desist from reprisal attacks. nan.