Follow Us on Google
Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
Gombe State governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has revealed that the state suffers most from the activities of Boko Haram insurgency in the North East.
According to the governor, the activities of the insurgent which have rendered scores homeless in the region have overstretched the state’s infrastructure as well as the health care system. “Our centrality in the region and the age-long relationship between our people and those if the neighboring Borno, Adamawa and Yobe state has made our state the only place they can run to for safety,” Governor Yahaya said.
The governor who appealed for more support from development partners, made the disclosure while hosting the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) alongside a delegation of the Norwegian Embassy during a courtesy visit to the governor on Thursday. He lamented that many development partners do not see Gombe as one of the frontline states in the North East, stating however that the impact of insurgency in the state is glaring considering the continuous influx of the displaced persons into the state some of whom have already made up their minds not to go back to their states.
Governor Yahaya equally commended the impact of the UNFPA and the Norwegian Government-supported projects that are aimed at improving the lives of women and children, girl-child education, gender equality and succour to the displaced persons as well as the implementation of other healthcare programmes in the state.
He said: “Donor agencies and development partners have wonderfully done well in Gombe See, but I still urge them to do more so as to strengthen us in accommodating the displaced persons, because they are Nigerians and must be accommodated no matter what, considering the circumstance that led to their relocation from their immediate communities and ancestral homes.”
He stressed that his administration was addressing the huge infrastructural deficit in the education sector, while also putting efforts towards revamping the sector and improving the quality of education at all levels.
According to the UNFPA Deputy Representative, Erika Goldson in a remark, the visit was a special mission to observe some of the intervention of a specific programme that is looking at an integrative approach to improve sexual and reproductive health to women and girls in the state. She said having gone around a number health facility, “we want to commend the state government for the commitment shown so far and also appreciate you for allowing us to implement this programme in Gombe State.”
While commending the state governor for his commitment to addressing maternal health and other development issues in the state, the First Secretary, Norway Embassy, Mari Lundeby, urged the government to sustain and scale up the programme to other parts of the state. She assured of the resolve to work with the state in addressing the high maternal mortality rates, enhancing girl-child education as well as empowering women to achieve their potentials.
