Gombe Renaissance Initiative holds Inaugural Meeting

By Muhammad Ibrahim

Gombe Renaissance Initiative (GRI), a fledgling organization comprising of bonafide indegines of Gombe State has, on Sunday, 25th June, 2017, held its inaugural meeting to mark the beginning of a new dawn in terms of youth empowerment, promotion of education and rendering selfless services to the less privileged.

In a widely attended meeting comprising of virtually all members of the newly-formed association, the President of the organization, Salisu Abubakar Aliyu, emphatically connoted that GRI is a registered non-partisan and non-governmental organization with the cardinal aim of paying back to Gombe, what Gombe State and its good citizens have given to them.

"GRI is the brain-child of the bonafide indigenes of Gombe State who are driven by sheer altruism, after carefully studying the pervasive socio-economic challenges facing Gombe State. Therefore, as a means of contributing our own quota to the development of the State, we decided to come together to form GRI", he said.

Mr. Salisu also elucidated that the cardinal reason behind the formation of GRI, as a means of fostering unity among the hordes of indigenes of Gombe State, is to ensure meaningful leadership development, and for the good citizens to be actively involved in developmental strides within Gombe State. It suffices to add that the association is aimed at fostering mutual assistance amongst the citizens of the State.

As a result of the glaring, although surmountable challenges, bedeviling the education sector, Mr. Salisu stated that GRI is "going to dedicate ample time and resources towards providing meaningful intervention in the educational sector, and to seek for ways of unlocking other opportunities geared towards attaining a first-class education in Gombe."

While responding to questions from newsmen, the President said that the membership of the organization is open to all the good citizens of Gombe State irrespective of tribe, religion and gender. It is an open organization "to all the indigenes of Gombe who share the ideals and ideologies of GRI", he noted.

In a related development, the GRI has, immediately after its inaugural meeting, embarked on its designed activities as part of Sallah gesture by visiting and donating food stuffs and, most importantly, valuable items to the inmates of Gombe Convict Prison.

In addition, GRI has also paid a special visit to Gombe Specialist Hospital in order to ascertain the health sector needs in the State, thereby donating drugs and delivery materials to those in need of them, but couldn't afford it.

The President finally encouraged all well-meaning citizens of Gombe State to support the movement by joining hands together to develop their immediate community as a way of giving back to the society, what it has given to them.