Address at the Commissioning of Gombe State Government Staff Quarters,
May 28, 1997

It is with pleasure that I address you on the occasion of the commissioning ceremony of Gombe State first housing estate. Today’s occasion is a reflection of the priorities of this state’s administration – the provision of housing for civil servants. All too often we berate civil servants for all the failures in our system; and always seek to prod them towards efficiency and greater achievements, but we fail to provide the necessary environment. No doubt, the provision of residential accommodation for staff is a necessary condition for efficiency and productivity. I heartily commend this decision of the government to begin the construction of staff quarters; and I congratulate His Excellency on the successful and timely execution of the project.

There is an unhealthy trend at all levels of government where succeeding administrations choose to ignore ongoing projects begun by their predecessors. New chief executives at local, state or national levels are routinely misadvised against completing such projects either as a punitive measure against contractors or deprive the initiators of these projects their due credits. As a result the national landscape is littered with abandoned projects. The good thing about any project is that it should be completed, but an even better thing is that it should be maintained. However, the experience in this country is that when eventually projects are completed, they are very poorly maintained, or not maintained at all, leading to premature deterioration and collapse. In the end, the nation is doubly short-changed. Resources are wasted as costs escalate over an unnecessarily prolonged execution time, and more costs are incurred in ineffectual delayed maintenance. All these would have been saved with timely execution and prompt maintenance.

Herein lies the wisdom and relevance in setting up the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF) as an interventional agency to rehabilitate dilapidated infrastructure and complete abandoned viable projects in order to improve the socio-economic well-being of Nigerians. In our take-off projects, in addition to rehabilitating 12,5000 kilometres of national highways, we selected some state headquarters and other major towns for our township roads rehabilitation programme. I am happy to note that Gombe town is one of the beneficiaries, and that work on the urban roads is progressing satisfactorily. Similarly, work on inter-township roads linking Gombe to other parts of the country is at various appreciable levels. In addition, along with other states in the federation, Gombe State will benefit from PTF intervention in the education and health sectors. As a matter of policy, the Fund intends to rehabilitate and equip schools in each state, as follows:

i. Two (2) primary schools per local government
ii. One secondary school per senatorial district
iii. One vocational school per senatorial district
iv. One state college of education or state polytechnic or state university
v. All federal government colleges (Unity schools)
vi. All federal universities, polytechnics, colleges of education
vii. We will procure and distribute educational consumables at subsidised rates nationwide

In the health sector, the Fund will rehabilitate and equip hospitals in each state, as follows:

i. One comprehensive health centre per local government
ii. One general hospital per senatorial district
iii. One specialist hospital per state
iv. All teaching hospitals
v. Drugs for the Drug Revolving Fund Scheme for all states and local governments.

In the area of water supply, food supply, electricity and telephone services, activities will commence within the current financial year.

I have listened, with rapt attention, to the catalogue of requests made by His Excellency, the military administrator of Gombe State. I have, on different occasions, made it clear that the resources of PTF are not inexhaustible. Gombe State alone can consume all the PTF Funds and still ask for more. The Fund should be seen for what it is – only an interventionist agency complementing other tiers of government to provide, maintain and sustain services. It can’t hope to do more than that. Even if His Excellency has to be Oliver, I wish to remind him that the Fund has not been a Scrooge.

Apart from the urban roads and inter-state roads linking Gombe with other neighbouring states, PTF has also paid off the counterpart fund in the sum of N179,910,530.71 towards completing the Gombe Referral Hospital as acknowledged by the military administrator. We also intend to assist in the Gombe Regional Water Project, sourcing from Dadin Kowa Dam to Gombe township and environs as a permanent solution to the perennial water shortage. Doubtless, the provision of potable water would further boost industrial and related economic activities of the state. Other towns and villages would also benefit from our borehole rehabilitation and small dams scheme.

The request for additional urban roads has been noted. Gombe was allocated twenty-five kilometres in the take-off projects, but since it is a continuous exercise we may reconsider the request in our subsequent phases. The Drug Revolving Fund scheme applies to all states and local governments. Gombe State will certainly get its allocation soonest when the logistics would have been sorted out. The delay was partly because the exercise was completed before the creation of new states. I appeal for patience in this regards. On the request for state roads, I would like to point out that the rehabilitation we are doing now is largely on federal inter-state highways. In our subsequent phases we would consider state roads and I believe Gombe State will benefit from that exercise.

Your Excellency, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the PTF has the best intention for the welfare of the people. However, our plan would not yield the desired result without the cooperation of all and sundry. I therefore seize this opportunity to appeal to the members of the public to institute a maintenance culture as part of their daily life so that the facilities provided will last longer for the good of all. People should accept projects and facilities provided for them as sacred trust. It is retrogressive to consider such facilities as government property and therefore nobody’s property. This call applies also to the occupants of these new houses. Maintain them, sustain the cleanliness of the environment and ultimately justify the huge investment in this endeavour. As its contribution, the Fund will provide a functional borehole to the estate for steady water supply.

I most sincerely thank you for the honour to dedicate the estate to me. I accept it with all humility. Thank you very much.