Inuwa Yahaya Emerges Northern Governors' Forum Chair

Governor Inuwa Yahaya  of Gombe State has been elected as the new Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF).

This feat is coming after Yahaya won his re-election bid for a second term as the governor of Gombe in the February 2023 general elections.

He was first elected governor of the Gombe in 2019.

Inuwa Yahaya in his acceptance speech promises to work towards harnessing the endowments buried in the North for economic development.

“We will work hard to ensure that we catch up with the rest of the country, possibly with the developed parts of the world so that our people will feel the impact of good governance we all pursue,” he said in a statement by the Director-General (Press Affairs), Government House, Gombe, Ismaila Misilli.

According to him, the Northern region of the country is sitting on not only oil and gas deposits but solid minerals which the Forum has no reason not to exploit and put to use for the benefit of the people.

The Gombe governor will be taking over from the outgoing chairman of the forum and governor of Plateau state, Simon Lalong who has been the Chairman since 2019.

Lalong advised his successor to be dedicated to help bring an end to challenges the North is battling with.

"However, with our collective and individual efforts coupled with the support of the Federal Government and security agencies, we were able to do our best to contain the situation,” the Plateau governor noted.

“Without the series of meetings and engagements we held, our people would have been thrown into deeper hunger and despair as the threat by criminals restrained them from engaging in farming which is the main economic activity of the region.

“Although we have not overcome this challenge completely, we have substantially improved the situation.

"We hope that the incoming Governors and those continuing their second terms will work together with the Federal Government to ensure the region is secure.”