After The Sun Report, Gombe approves N5bn for street naming, house numbering

From Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe

The Gombe State Government has approved N5 billion for comprehensive street naming, installation of signages and house numbering across the state capital, a development that comes on the heels of a Daily Sun special report highlighting the far-reaching consequences of the state’s lack of a functional addressing system.

The investigative feature, chronicled how residents rely on vague landmarks instead of verifiable addresses, drew attention to security vulnerabilities, delayed emergency response, stalled e-commerce growth and weak revenue administration.

Days later, the State Executive Council moved to authorise what officials describe as a structural urban reform. Briefing journalists after the Council’s 52nd meeting, the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Ibrahim Abubakar Njodi, confirmed that the project will cover comprehensive road and street naming, installation of standardised signposts and systematic house numbering within Gombe metropolis.

He stated that the initiative is expected to be completed before the end of 2026 and will be executed through relevant technical institutions, including the Gombe Geographic Information Systems (GOGIS) and the Gombe State Urban Planning and Development Authority (GOSUPDA).

Professor Njodi underscored that the approval goes beyond aesthetics. According to him, the absence of a coordinated addressing framework has constrained governance efficiency, emergency coordination and economic expansion.

“This intervention is about creating a structured urban identity system that strengthens planning, improves internal revenue optimisation and aligns Gombe with modern digital mapping standards,” he said.

The Sun report had documented incidents where emergency responders struggled to locate residences due to the absence of numbered houses and clearly marked streets. It also highlighted the operational setbacks faced by courier firms and logistics providers, many of whom resort to office pick-up models because door-to-door delivery is commercially unsustainable without reliable addresses.

Analysts view the Council’s decision as a policy response to sustained public discourse on the issue. For nearly three decades after its creation in 1996, Gombe has expanded physically but without a comprehensive addressing backbone to match its growth.

With funding now approved and a 2026 deadline set, the spotlight shifts to implementation discipline. Residents and business operators alike will be watching closely to see whether the reform translates into measurable improvements in security response time, digital commerce penetration and revenue capture.

If executed to specification, the project could mark a turning point in the state’s urban governance architecture, transforming what was once described as an invisible cityscape into a mapped, numbered and investment-ready capital.