Gombe To Unveil Housing Initiative

The government of Gombe State, through the state’s Geographic Information System (GOGIS), is set to launch a digital housing initiative to enhance urban navigation and development across the state.

The initiative aims to improve emergency services, governance and revenue generation, aligning with the Nigerian National Street Addressing Standards and Guidelines of NIPOST, 2017.

The second lot of the contract covers comprehensive geospatial data capture and the establishment of a digital addressing infrastructure to support an effective street naming and house numbering system across Gombe State.

The Director-General of GOGIS, Dr Kabiru Usman Hassan, noted that the Street Naming and House Numbering initiative was not merely an infrastructure project but a foundational system for effective governance, security planning, economic activity and inclusive urban development.

According to him, the project will ensure that every street and property in Gombe Metropolis can be easily identified and located, thereby enhancing emergency response for security agencies, health services and fire-fighting operations.

Dr Hassan expressed appreciation to the Executive Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, Dan Majen Gombe, for initiating what he described as a legacy project and for his commitment to its successful completion.

He also commended the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement and other relevant stakeholders for their guidance, oversight and continued support, noting that their presence underscored a shared commitment to due process, accountability and value for public funds.

Dr Hassan gave the assurances of the management of GOGIS to all the participants that the process would be conducted with fairness, openness and professionalism, in accordance with the extant procurement regulations of Gombe State.

The Director General said the process would be conducted transparently, so that the best company could be selected to carry out the project effectively.

He noted that one of the major gaps in the state’s development is the absence of a proper street-naming and house-numbering system, explaining that although digital mapping through aerial photography has largely addressed location identification, the lack of formal addresses remains a challenge.

Dr Hassan said residents still rely on descriptions such as “behind a filling station” to find homes, stressing the need to replace what he described as an outdated method with a modern, technology-driven addressing system.

He explained that the project has two components, synergy and geospatial infrastructure, which will be installed at the Gombe Geographic Information System, GOGIS, centre to support street naming and house numbering linked to the state’s digital mapping platform.

According to him, the current phase will focus on the metropolitan area, while subsequent phases may be completed by future administrations due to time constraints.

He said that the decision to engage local contractors reflects Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya’s commitment to strengthening indigenous capacity and promoting local development.

The GOGID DG emphasised that an efficient addressing and geospatial system would also enhance security, noting that accurate house numbering would make it easier to trace locations using digital devices, thereby improving emergency response and law enforcement.

He described the exercise as another important milestone in the state government’s ongoing land administration and urban governance reforms.

The reforms, he said, were designed to strengthen service delivery, improve emergency response, boost revenue generation and position Gombe as a modern, well-addressed and digitally enabled city.”

The Director-General added that the initiative would improve revenue administration, support businesses and logistics, strengthen urban planning and infrastructure management, and provide residents with clear, verifiable addresses for documentation, utilities, and digital services.

“It would make Gombe safer, more organised and economically efficient, describing the bid opening as a critical step towards ensuring that the project is executed transparently, competitively and in full compliance with established procurement laws and procedures.”