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Gombe At COP 27 In Egypt; Shares Success Story, Seeks Partnership On Environmental Sustainability Agenda
By Abdulateef Taiwo
Gombe State is taking advantage of the ongoing 27th UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to engage stakeholders towards implementing solutions to local challenges caused by climate change in the state.
The summit, tagged COP 27, brought together leaders in government, civil society, industry, and finance from around the world to raise ambition and accelerate action to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
As a flag bearer in environmental management, Gombe State is sharing with the international community, the successes recorded by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya in the areas of afforestation and reforestation, especially under the Gombe Goes Green (3G) flagship project.
Gombe State is being represented at the International conference by the Commissioner of Environment and Forest Resources, Alh. Shehu Ibrahim Madugu and Gombe State Coordinator of Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project , Dr. Sani Adamu Jauro.
The Gombe delegation met with key stakeholders on the sidelines of the conference where they shared experience and sought for partnership in addressing numerous environmental challenges in Gombe State.
According to Shehu Madugu, the environment is a priority of Inuwa Yahaya administration, explaining to his hosts, that the unwavering commitment of the Governor to environmental sustainability inspired the State to initiate the largest and most comprehensive environmental restoration project in the North East subregion, the Gombe Goes Green (3G) under which at least 1 million trees are being planted annually.
“So far about 4 million trees have been planted, through which 364 hectares of degraded land have been recovered while Gully erosion control works are also ongoing across the State together with the Network-11-100 road revolution project which has so far seen the construction of over 500km of roads”.
The Commissioner of Environment assured that Gombe is committed to the protection and improvement of the environment as well as safeguarding the forests and wildlife of the state, and therefore welcomes partnerships that will strengthen its environmental sustainability plan which is the cornerstone of its development .
Featured
Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold
Joel Ajayi
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.
The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.
Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.
According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.
“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.
“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”
The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.
Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.
“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.
Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.
Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.
He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.
Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.
He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.
To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.
In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization
Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.
Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.
“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.
In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee
is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.
The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
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