Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, on Tuesday, expressed the commitment of the state government observe the lessons of the Niger Delta in its oil exploration at the Kolmani River located between Gombe and Bauchi states.

Earlier in the day, President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in the North-East, the first of its kind in the zone which has reportedly attracted $3 billion worth of invesments.

Yahaya, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today, highlighted the state government’s efforts towards ensuring environmental and economic stability in the region.


“We’ve learnt our lessons. With the developments and what has been happening around the Niger Delta and other oil-producing areas of the world, naturally, no government will allow things to follow the same track,” he said.

“With regard to the issue of the environment, our Ministry of Environment is working hand in hand with the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) so that we will avoid all the mistakes and pitfalls that have been the big challenge of oil exploration and implementation in the southern part of the country.

“Going forward, Gombe State will be working with some consultants that have been guiding us as to what we need to do, especially by providing the required skill, workmanship, and labour that is needed in order to be useful and exploited in the oil operations.”

According to the governor, there will be job and business opportunities for the people of Gombe.

He explained that from the exploratory stage, the state government had begun engaging local communities in all the activities.

“There is nothing opaque. We are transparent and I believe the company and the NNPC itself are so transparent that these days no activity will be taken off the shelf.

“So, we shall make sure that from the environment to the impact on society and the community, there will be no cause for alarm. As a state government, we are ready to partner with any investor.

“There is a window for us to discuss; we are ready to engage our local business community so that along the value chain, anybody that is interested will identify where to fix and where to invest so that eventually, economic activity will be kick-started and it will be enjoyed by the people of the state,” he said.

FreeStuffsNG:
Actually there are now better laws in place unlike in the past. A good example is the PIA.

The major thing they need is the political will and a brilliant, hardworking ,visionary leader like Asiwaju Tinubu

FreeStuffsNG:
Actually there are now better laws in place unlike in the past. A good example is the PIA.

The major thing they need is the political will and a brilliant, hardworking ,visionary leader like Asiwaju Tinubu

Allison012:
Niger deltans said, igbos are trying to force them into biafra because of their oyel. Their eyes don dey clear.

jimyjames:
I'm just laughing about this , Niger Delta are the biggest losers in this one Nigeria scam , meanwhile south east has alot of natural gas that has not been touched , we will do same with our natural gas when crude oil becomes useless

Ikpaitid:
North has oil and agriculture, West has commerce and industry and South South has oil.
What does the yeast have apart from armed robbers and kidnappers?
The IPOB zone is the most useless zone in Nigeria and I really believe it's time to give them their DOT NATION because they're parasites.

OneCandleAway:
South!
South!!!
Southern Nigeria!!!

First it was the gold mine in Zamfara they are mining by themselves and not sharing the profits with the rest of Nigeria.

Now it's oil. Let's see what they are up to.

South, give yourself brain oooo.

Ikpaitid:
North has oil and agriculture, West has commerce and industry and South South has oil.
What does the yeast have apart from armed robbers and kidnappers?
The IPOB zone is the most useless zone in Nigeria and I really believe it's time to give them their DOT NATION because they're parasites.