Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, alongside his Kaduna counterpart, Malam Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai on Saturday, performed the official unveiling of a new layout, known as Shongo Gardens Layout and the groundbreaking for the construction of 550 housing units in a bid to provide affordable houses to the people of the State.
Speaking at the event, Governor Inuwa Yahaya observed that owing to its centrality in the North Eastern subregion and the prevailing insecurity in the neighboring States, Gombe has witnessed an exponential increase both in population and size of its urban centres.
He explained that partly as a result of the influx of Internally Displaced Persons and urbanisation, the scenario that he said has put more pressure on the existing social amenities and proliferated the demand for housing and other social services.
According to him, “Since inception, we realised that in our efforts towards achieving the SDGs Goal 11 on fostering sustainable community and inclusive urban development, we must develop innovative ways to provide affordable and quality housing to our people.
“It is against this backdrop that our administration deemed it necessary to establish Gombe Geographic Information Systems, GOGIS and transform the Gombe State Development Board into Gombe State Urban Planning Development Authority, GOSUPDA in order to ensure the realisation of the urban renewal agenda while abolishing administrative bottlenecks”.
According to the Governor, the twin events marked the commencement of yet another phase of massive infrastructural development in the state and an important step that will see to the actualisation of the Special Development Zone Project which encapsulates an ambitious vision of his administration for a new and modern Gombe.
“This layout will be the first of its kind where critical infrastructure such as roads, water, power networks and other vital services will be provided with a goal of creating a habitable environment for Gombe residents while at the same time attracting investors and developers,” he noted.
The Governor however warned that his administration will not condone any act of sabotage, distortion, or encroachment in the new layout, calling on all relevant authorities to ensure compliance with development control regulations in the area.
Inuwa Yahaya said that when completed, the housing project will provide housing opportunities to hundreds of civil servants and other residents of the state, assuring continued collaboration with both domestic and international development partners in the provision of sustainable housing and inclusive urban development.
In his remarks during the events, Kaduna state G3, Mallam Nasir Ahmed Elrufa’i commended the people of Gombe State for their votes to the APC presidential candidates, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the presidential election and for re-electing Governor Inuwa Yahaya, whom he described as a performing governor.
According to him, “Gombe people have wisely chosen development over deception; they refused to compromise their future and that of their young ones. I assure you that you will never regret this.”
Nasir Elrufa’i extolled Governor Inuwa’s foresight and clear vision as testified by his administration’s policies and programmes which are geared toward restoring the pride of the people of Gombe State.
The Kaduna governor said, “Like in our case in Kaduna, layouts have been distorted and land mismanaged, there are carve-outs in GRA and no additional layouts were created, people are erecting structures without compliance to regulations and so on.”
“There is urgent need to make provisions and plan for our cities and urban centres to provide conducive environment for the ever-increasing population. And this is exactly what Governor Inuwa is doing in Gombe; planning for the present and the future.
“He is also thriving to see Gombe always remains the best option for investors, I believe that is why Gombe remains its position as the best in the ease of doing business in the country,” he said.
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