Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has lauded the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and business potential of Gombe State, saying it is ranked number first in the subnational ease of doing business survey report.
The vice president who is the chairman of the National Economic Council made the commendation yesterday at the closing ceremony of the Gombe State First Investment Summit held at the Gombe International Conference Centre.
He said the state could rank as a sovereign state, noting that its GDP is three times the GDP of Gambia and almost the same with that of Liberia which are sovereign African nations.
“I think it is fascinating that Governor Yahaya has approached the development of the state by thinking like a sovereign state as opposed to thinking as a subnational,” he said.
Osinbajo also lauded the state government for its focus and determination to improve the fortunes of the state by positioning it for investments from both foreign and local investors.
“I am glad that Gombe State is at the centre of business enabling reforms, which informs your standing as the number one state in the subnational ease of doing business survey report ranking. As captured by responses from the private sector in the report, Gombe leads the frontier in infrastructure and security indicators, as well as in skills and labour indicators.
“Today, we can confidently say that Gombe is taking its investment drive to the ‘next level’ with this summit. The business environment is critical to the prosperity of our great country,” he said.
The vice president also commended the state government for establishing the 1,000-hectare Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park which he said would attract and accommodate many factories, boost internal revenue and create jobs among other benefits.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya declared open the three-day summit on Tuesday with over 200 investors from across the country and beyond as participants.
He said the summit was aimed at attracting investors and harnessing the business potentials of the state and expressed satisfaction with the responses from investors and the business community, adding that hundreds of investors had expressed interest to operate from the new industrial park.
