The Gombe State Government is to unveil its 10-year (2021-2030) development plan, modeled after a Lagos state initiative, on Feb 16, the state Commissioner of Finance, Muhammad Magaji, said on Wednesday in Gombe

Briefing journalists after the State’s Executive Council Meeting, Magaji stated that the draft 10-year development plan document was ready and would serve as a guide for the state government, irrespective of its political affiliation.

He stated that the document had been approved by the State Executive Council for onward transmission to the Gombe State House of Assembly for appropriate legislation.

According to him, this measure was to ensure that the document became a law, which will outlive subsequent governments, “ so, it is not a document for this government but for Gombe state.”

He said that an example of such a development plan could be found in Lagos, where “ there is a 25-year plan and they are going for a 50-year plan.

“ Lagos has been guided by the development plan and they have been making so much progress and, Gombe being a shining light in the Northeast, has embraced this initiative.”

Magaji stated that the preparation of the plan had taken into consideration the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as inputs from the state’s Medium Term Framework.

He said the plan encompassed all aspects of human life, providing a guide in every aspect of “ our livelihoods so that we can say by 2030, this is where we expect Gombe to be.”

The commissioner added that with the plan in place, the state would have a tool to assess the level of progress, what was left to be achieved, and the plan for the future at the expiration of the 10-year plan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the steering committee for the preparation of the state’s 10-year development plan was constituted on April 24, 2020.

The committee, which was headed by the deputy governor, Mannassah Jatau, was saddled with the responsibility of providing a general direction to the process of plan preparation, approval, and implementation.