PROTOCOLS

Let me say that it is a very special honour to be at the closing of this inaugural Gombe State Investment Summit. I bring you the very warm greetings and congratulations of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari on the success of this inaugural summit.

I would like to specially thank my brother and friend, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya and the Government and People of Gombe State for the very warm reception that he has always given to me and the members of my team at all times that I have visited Gombe State and today also at this very successful event.

I salute Your Excellency’s focus and your determination to improve the fortunes of Gombe State, especially by positioning it for investments from both foreign and local investors. I would also like to thank all of our guests from the private sector and investment community; your presence and participation have contributed significantly to the success of this summit.

This inaugural Summit, GoInvest, is consistent with Gombe State’s mission to create an enabling environment for sustainable prosperity, peace, cohesion and an all-inclusive development for the people of the State, as contained in the Development Agenda for Gombe State (DEVAGOM) 2021 – 2030.

The Development Plan itself is perhaps one of the few by a subnational to articulate a detailed long-term vision and plan towards the transformation of the State. In addition, the State developed a full Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) covering the last two years 2020-2022. So, DEVAGOM 2021-2030, is both a visioning exercise and a concrete road map to the long-term growth and sustainable development of Gombe State.

I am delighted that we are beginning to harvest the first fruits of the plan. One of those is the remarkable feat of attaining the first position in the Subnational 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 in implementing the State’s health system reforms. These validations from different bodies, local and international could not have come by accident.

They are a product of the strong leadership and commitment that have been demonstrated by Your Excellency and I think this became even clearer even as Governor-elect in 2019, Your Excellency commissioned a Needs Assessment Survey – a vital first step towards developing a solid roadmap of reforms and programmes for the progress that we see today.

You will recall that just barely eighteen months ago, I was here in Gombe for the 27th edition of the MSME Clinics, where I visited the inspiring groundnut oil and rice processing hub, where tons of groundnut oil and hundreds of bags of rice are being produced on a daily basis.

Today, we can confidently say that Gombe is taking its investment drive to the ‘next level’ with this Summit. The business environment is critical to the prosperity of our great country. (The Hon. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy captured the context very well, that the business environment, what we do and what we are able to do for the private sector, are critical for the prosperity of our great country). This has become even more critical as we have an incredible opportunity with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

The AfCFTA stands to impact the Nigerian economy in several ways. One of the objectives of the Agreement fundamentally aligns with the National Development Plan and of course, with the plan that has just been laid out by Gombe State. In boosting the competitiveness of Nigeria’s exports, the trade agreement serves as a solid platform for cooperation on infrastructure, development, investment, technology transfer and innovation.

So, there is a clear impetus for all branches and levels of the Nigerian Government as well as the private sector, to deliver concrete, ambitious and critical policy interventions in order to take full advantage of the opportunities for the economy and, by extension, the entire continent. That is why in the past six years, the Federal Government has aggressively pursued, under the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) initiatives, the creation of an environment that allows Nigerian businesses, at every level, to operate without the bottlenecks and drawbacks that have come to characterize their interface with agencies and regulators.

I am glad that Gombe State is at the centre of the business enabling reforms, which informs your standing as the number 1 State in the subnational 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.

The State also ranked second in the regulatory environment indicator. Among the implemented reforms which led to that result, include the waiver on business premises registration for all new businesses, and the downward review of Right-of-Way charges from N1,500 to N145. Businesses also reported that registering property can be completed in about 7 days in Gombe State.

Gombe State also provides incentives such as the free allocation of land to new businesses with an investment of at least N100 million. Such businesses are also able to enjoy waivers on annual ground rent at the initial stages of their establishment.

These reforms are being completed against the background of a stable security situation in the State and investments in critical infrastructure and human development. But perhaps in my own view, the most poignant affirmation of the belief of Gombe State in the notion that government must catalyse economic growth with both policy measures and brick and mortar, is the commencement in 2021 of the 1000-hectare Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park. 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.

I continue to follow the progress of the Gombe State Health Insurance Scheme as well, which was only launched a few months before the MSME Clinics and has now enrolled 100,000 residents including over 40,000 poor and vulnerable under the GoHealth scheme.
These investments in human capital development alongside physical infrastructure development are the strong foundations for the rapid development led by small and medium enterprises. This aligns with the vision of this State, to be the industrial hub of the Northeast of our country.

I think it is fascinating that Governor Yahaya has approached the development of the State by thinking like a Sovereign state as opposed to thinking as a subnational. This explains why he took the trouble to draw up a 10-year development plan, an MTEF, and takes the issues of creating an enabling business environment seriously. 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 as you would plan the growth of a country. And I am very happy that Governor Inuwa Yahaya is doing that.

As a progressive government, we remain committed to policies and reform efforts that are geared towards economic diversification and improved productivity. 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.

We must all remain dedicated and focused especially towards the economic diversification and improved productivity of our country. So, we are proud of the giant strides that Gombe State has recorded so far. And we hope that all of what we will be seeing in the next few years will be even more poignant and even much better than what we are seeing today.

It is also evident to some of us that this State is poised for greater things in the next few years, and from what we see currently being implemented by the State Government, it is clear that what we will see in another couple of years will be much better than what we have seen in the past few years.

Gombe has become a reference point for business climate reforms. I think this encourages existing and potential investors, local and foreign, to embrace the opportunities available in the State.

Let me once again thank the business community – private sector and international investors for standing up to the current local and global challenges of doing business today. The future of our country rests in the hands of business owners, 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 State Government and the Federal Government. Our Federation benefits our people when the States and Federal authorities alongside private actors think and work together.
Let me again reemphasize the Federal Government’s pledge to work with the Gombe State Government, to give you all the support that you need in order to ensure that your businesses and the business environment succeed.

God bless Gombe State and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Thank you.