A delegation of elders from Gombe State have pledged to prevent factors capable of causing disharmony between Gombe and Bauchi States following the exploration of oil on their borders.
Led by the state Governor, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya, the elders said they would ensure the success of the Kolmani Oil project by way of mobilising the people positively.
The elders, who said they’d come to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for his quality leadership to the country, commended him for his role in the discovery of oil in commercial quantity in the Kolmani area.
In response, the President jocularly told them: “Thank you for coming to say thank you to me for doing my job. Thank you for appreciating the efforts. It is a morale booster.”
President Buhari said when he served as Petroleum Minister for over three years in the 1970s, he and his team developed the feasibility studies, believing it would further stabilise the polity. He told his guests to congratulate themselves for the oil find and not the President.
On the political situation in the country ahead of the 2023 general election, the President said off-season elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States had shown that the government respected Nigerians by allowing them to choose their own leaders without interference.
Irrespective of what some people had been saying, his administration had made strides in stabilizing the security situation in the country, reviving and diversifying the economy, and fighting corruption, he insisted.
Governor Yahaya had told the President that the people of Gombe came to express appreciation and gratitude for the successful flag-off of the Kolmani oil project.
He described the project as “gigantic” and a “milestone for the entire country”, stressing that it would enhance socio-economic fortunes, create jobs, and benefit farmers as well as the business class.
Governor Yahaya also assured President Buhari of “community support for the venture”, promising that, along with Bauchi State, where the oil field is jointly situated, the people of the two states will ensure the success of the project.
The President had done his best for the country despite the “tumultuous times” in which he served, he maintained, and said that history will be kind to him.
The governor also thanked President Buhari for other projects in the State, such as the takeover of the airport by the federal government, siting of an Air Force Base, and the Federal Polytechnic.
“We will remember you forever,” he told the President. “You have left footprints that are indelible. History will be kind to you on efforts you made, despite the difficult times.”
For his part, the Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar 111, said the Kolmani project was “historic”, which, according to him, “will never be forgotten by the people”.
Reporting by Abdullah Bello; Editing by Abdullahi Lamino and Tony Okerafor