Gombe State Project Coordinator Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) Professor Usman Bello Abubakar, has reiterated his readiness to partner with stakeholders towards poverty reduction and empowerment of women and youth in Gombe state.

A statement made available to Jewel Times by the Communication Officer of the project Umar Baba Kumo said Professor U.B. Abubakar made this known when he received the Special Adviser to the state Governor and Coordinator Gombe State Social Investment Program (SIP) Mrs Aisha Adamu Yaro on a courtesy call.

The Project Coordinator who expressed appreciation for the visit, pledged to partner with the agency to deliver the mandate of the state Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, stressing that the ultimate goal of the project is wealth creation through jobs and employment opportunities for the teeming youth and women in the State.

He said “L-PRES will do everything possible to change the narrative of governance and service delivery in Gombe State by introducing life changing economic activities that are abundant in the livestock sector”.

Professor Abubakar who commended women for their resilience, explained that the project will support women including widows, retirees and those with disabilities to engage in rearing of livestock especially goats and poultry, explaining that goats are easier to manage and can feed even on garbage.

He further stated, that plans are underway to establish a modern abattoir in the state where beef and animal products will be packaged and distributed to any part of the country, thereby reducing the challenges and risk of road transportation of live animals to other parts of the country.

To further improve the economic activities and livelihood of citizens in the state, he said “An ultra-modern cattle market will be established in Gombe State that will serve the entire North East sub region, at L-PRES, our door is always open to support the Social Investment Program activities”.

He charged the coordinator to come up with any proposal so that a technical committee will be formed between the two agencies to develop a workable framework for collaboration.

Earlier, in her opening remarks the Special Adviser to the Governor and State Coordinator Social Investment Program Mrs Aisha Adamu Yaro, said the visit was to express her solidarity with the coordinator, while commending the state Governor for the introduction of such a laudable project.

Aisha Adamu Yaro hinted that, “President Bola Tinubu had already signed the amended National Social Investment Program Agency Act 2023 which seeks to provide for effective and transparent management and implementation of the Social Investment Program to address the escalating poverty in the country”.

She said the visit to the L-PRES project office was to seek for assistance and areas of collaboration considering the numerous value chains activities embedded in the project.

She further appealed to the project coordinator to consider supporting women and other vulnerable groups during the implementation of the project in the state.

In a related development, the Honourable Commissioner Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation Dr Ahmad Abdullahi Bappah, has expressed his readiness to partner with the L-PRES Project in areas of science, technology and innovation to fast-track the implementation of the project in the State.

The commissioner stated this when he paid a courtesy call on the Project Coordinator Professor Usman Bello Abubakar at the L-PRES Project office together with the Permanent Secretary and some directors of the ministry.

Dr. Bappah said the ministry is prepared to extend its hands of collaboration to stakeholders through the use of science, technology and innovation to improve service delivery as well as supporting the youth with new ideas and inventions to realise their dreams and aspirations.

He hinted that the ministry will serve as breeding ground for youth and has already co-opted Engineer Hadi Usman a renowned scientist and private inventor with numerous discoveries to his credit to facilitate the process. He urged the L-PRES Coordinator to explore areas needed for partnership with the ministry that will be of benefit to the project.

In his response the Project Coordinator expressed appreciation for the visit and commended the ministry in its efforts to facilitate new developments in the field of science and technology in line with the vision of the state government to create employment opportunities and make the youth more productive in the state.

He explained that, the L-PRES project will soon embark on renovation of abattoirs in the three senatorial districts of the state and construction of ultra-modern abattoir to modernise beef production and marketing.

He expressed hope that, the project in collaboration with the ministry will soon initiate the process for the introduction of renewable energy to provide electricity needed at the abattoirs and the Wawa Zange Grazing Reserve in Dukku Local Government Area of the state considering the present challenges in the energy sector.

He said “So far, the project in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperatives has inaugurated conflict, mediation and management committees both at state and local government levels to address farmers’ harders conflicts in the state that has affected farming and food production”.

He explained that plans are also under way for mapping and profiling of prospective beneficiaries in all the local government areas of the states for possible intervention to revamp livestock production in the state and called on stakeholders to support the project initiative.