By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya and his counterparts from the 35 states of the federation on Wednesday engaged the World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other development partners in areas and ways of strengthening cooperation and mutual partnerships for sustainable development results in their respective states.
The interactive session, which took place in Abuja at the instance of the Nigerian Governor’s Forum, chaired by Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state, centred on new development challenges, human capital development agenda, financial inclusion, revenue prioritization among others.
The Senior Special Assistant (Media and Publicity) to the Gombe State Governor, Ismaila Uba Misilli disclosed this in a statement sent to Sundiata Post.
The meeting also discussed matters relating to health, education, agriculture and governance, with Country Directors of various agencies taking turns to brief the states chief executives and answered questions on the partnerships and rules of engagement.
A Special briefing session was held for Gombe state and seven others by the GAVI Vaccine Alliance in collaboration with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, where the global body reiterated its commitment to providing increased access to immunization in Gombe, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Bayelsa, Jigawa, Niger and Taraba states.
In his quest to take maximum advantage of the forum, Governor Inuwa Yahaya personally engaged some agencies on the sidelines of the meeting, where he expressed his administration’s readiness and commitment to partner with them in areas of mutual interests.
Sundiata Post recalls that the Governor had fortnight ago met with State Coordinators of Donor Agencies and Development Partners operating in Gombe State, where he vowed to explore and exploit more areas of partnerships with them as well as ensure timely counterpart funding of projects that have direct bearing on the people.