Gombe Plans N30bn Green Bond, Woos Investors To Invest In Agric

The Gombe State government planned to raise N30 billion green bond in advancing its economy.
To this end, the executive governor of Gombe State, Muhammad Yahaya urged investors to invest in the State’s agriculture and infrastructure development.

Yahaya stated this at the Closing Gong Ceremony by Gombe State, who is exploring how the state can harness the capital market through green bonds to stimulate sustainable development, held yesterday on Nigerian Stock Exchange(NGX), Lagos.

He also introduced, to the investing public, its GoInvest 2.0 to hold later in the year with the theme, ‘Unlocking Potential, Advancing Together: Invest In Gombe State’.
Yahaya stated that, ‘the State intends to raise N30 billion for the start and we may break it into tranches.’
He noted that the Green Bond is an initiative aimed at raising funds in order to finance eco-friendly and environmentally friendly investments, especially, in assets that will contribute to restoration and upliftment of human life so that we can reduce the impact of climate change and global warming.
He said that, ‘with the support we saw and the acceptance of the Nigerian capital market stakeholders, we are going to hit our target.

’He added that the capital market is the ideal place for any investor, either government, public or private sector to pull funds for development.
On reason to invest in Gombe, he said, the State was ranked based fifth out of 36 States on the following index assessed: accessibility, open budget, public procurement, human resources, anti-corruption and citizens engagement, saying, Gombe still maintains it’s position as number one in ease of doing business in Nigeria.
The governor said, the State has been ranked number one (two years in a row) by the survey of the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in Nigeria.

He also added that the Gombe presents investment opportunities across the tomato value chain, saying that the livestock sector in Gombe State remains a hidden opportunity waiting to be harnessed and the State has the Largest Grazing Reserve in Nigeria with 146,000 Ha of Land, comprising of six Veterinary Clinics, Milk Collection Centre and Modern Abattoir and 16 Boreholes.
He said the government’s commitment to maintaining peace and fostering a business friendly environment has been a key factor in ensuring the State’s security and attractiveness to investors.
He added that, “in the year 2022, we unveiled Golnvest 1.0 as a tangible realisation of our commitment to fostering a conducive business environment within the state.

“This project was undertaken with the purpose of showing our recognition of private sector investments as a strong catalyst for both employment generation and the augmentation of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), thereby contributing significantly to the overall advancement of the state’s developmental objectives.”
The chairman of Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc, Dr. Umaru Kwairanga said, Nigeria is one of the best investment destinations globally, it is blessed with abundant human and natural resources.
‘We have vast lands for agriculture and food production, almost every kind of mineral resource that you can think of, and a large hard working populace,” he said.
He noted that the next growth engine of the world is Africa and is going to be led by Nigeria.
Managing director/CEO – Backbone Connectivity Nigeria, Ibrahim Dikko stated that, ‘we just signed an agreement with the Gombe State government to position the State as a technology hub for North East Nigeria.’