Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, has said that his administration will continue to provide the enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the State.
This is sequel to the emergence of the state as the first among the 36 States of Nigeria in the socio-economic index compiled by an independent organization that provides insights into the socio-economic performance and risk profiles of Nigerian states.
Speaking to State House Correspondents on Friday, after he met behind closed doors with the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Governor Inuwa Yahaya said:
“There is no magic about how we emerged as the best among our peers on the socio-economic index, there is no miracle it is just commitment, hard work and dedication”.
“Over the time, since I became Governor, I made sure that we maintain focus and a clear vision. We made sure we consistently monitor the progress of the State economically, vis-à-vis the needs of the people and the mood of the country.
“So all those things joined together gave us victory. Socio-economic development means every aspect of human development and I am very happy that the effort we are making in Gombe is recognized and we remain focused and will consistently continue to deliver on the needs of our people.”
Commenting on the trending issue of inflation and food shortage, the Governor said the challenges are not peculiar to Nigeria but frantic efforts are being put in place by the Gombe State government in collaboration with the federal government to ensure normalcy returns.
“Food crisis is not only prevalent in Nigeria it is obtained all over the world because of the challenges confronting the world but our own has its own peculiarities because of the insecurity that has bedeviled the North; especially North-West and North-East.
“That notwithstanding, we are making serious efforts to ensure that we restore normalcy by providing security to enable the people go back to their farms. So we have our own strategies for both the short, medium and long terms. Each State has its own but we have keyed into that of the federal government in order to ensure that very soon we overcome the challenges,” he added.
It would be recalled that Gombe State recently emerged the best in Nigeria with a PSPI Score of 0.80, ranking 1st with an AAA rating, indicating an excellent performance.
On the index, Gombe is followed by Jigawa, Ekiti and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which are occupying 2nd 3rd and 4th positions in that order.
Gombe was rated high in most of the socio-economic parameters that were considered, which include: economic potentials, socioeconomic performance and risk management.