Gombe State governor, Inuwa Yahaya, has ordered the immediate conversion of the abandoned School of Nursing and Midwifery in Dukku to Gombe State University, Dukku Campus.
This decision, according to the governor, is to provide a platform for the introduction of various degree courses that will bridge the educational gap inherent in the northern part of the state.
Mr Yahaya was in Dukku Local Government Area to inspect some projects and to push for the construction of the Gombe Abba/ Kirfi road by the North East Development Commission (NEDC).
Accompanied by the Board and Management of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) as well as members of the National Assembly, the governor first visited the abandoned College of Nursing and Midwifery before proceeding to Police Tactical Training School and later Gombe Abba/Kirfi road which he and his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed, are prevailing on the NEDC to have it constructed.
The governor equally commissioned the Farm Service Centre in Dukku equipped with modern agricultural implements and inputs for the maximum benefit of farmers in the state which was built, equipped and handed over to the Gombe government by the North-East Development Commission (NEDC).
While speaking at the College of Nursing and Midwifery Dukku, Mr Yahaya said establishing a college with such nomenclature will require putting up a hospital of specialist status which can only provide training for a minimal number of nurses and midwives.
“Considering the current economic downturn in the country, of which Gombe is not immuned, it is going to be difficult for the state to yield into spending huge amount of money, especially in the midst of competing demands to construct another specialist hospital that will compliment the college”.
“So it was for this reason that my administration thought it wise to get it converted to a campus of Gombe State University, so that it can provide the opportunity for many of our children to acquire University education,” he added.
The governor then directed that the college be converted to Gombe State University, Dukku Campus to provide a platform for the introduction of various degree courses that will bridge the educational gap inherent in the northern part of the state.
The governor revealed that the over N2.4 billion so far expended in the college must not be allowed to waste, hence the decision by his administration to have it converted to a campus of the state-owned university.
At the Gombe Abba/Kirfi road, Mr Yahaya told journalists that the economic importance attached to the construction of the road is enormous in view of the fact that the hundreds of communities that live along the stretch of the 62 kilometre road are engaged in agricultural activities.
He therefore appealed to the NEDC to look at the possibility of constructing the road for the social and economic benefits of the people of both Gombe and Bauchi States.
In his response, the Chairman of the Commission, Paul Tarfa, and the Managing Director of the commission Mohammed Alkali, assured the governor that the intervention agency will do all that is necessary to see to the construction of the road in no distant time.
At the Police Tactical Training School, Dukku, the governor told the Board and Management of the NEDC that the Gombe State Government donated the facility to the police as part of his administration’s determination to ensure peace and tranquility in the state and the North-east sub-region as a whole.
The governor explained that since one of the mandates of the commission is to bring about lasting peace through rehabilitation, reconstruction and reintegration, it behoves on the NEDC to intervene by putting up some of the structures required for the smooth take off of the school.
He said when fully operational, the academy will engage in the training of police personnel in Counter Terrorism Unit, (CTU) Special Protection Unit (SPU) and Border Patrol.
The Commission, through its board chairman, assured the governor that the commission will look at the request forwarded with a view to intervening.
The Commandant of the Anti-Terrorism Unit, Yahaya Usman, had earlier intimated the governor that since the hand over of the school about a year ago, the college has remained dormant due to lack of budgetary provision to equip it with necessary training facilities.