Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya on Monday hosted a delegation of investors and development partners from Tunisia and Morocco to a dinner in Abuja, making a strong case for African-led development partnerships.
The delegation, under the auspices of the Tunisia Consortium for African Development (TUCAD), had earlier undertaken a technical and field assessment tour of key infrastructure and investment sites in Gombe State.
The team visited the Dadinkowa Dam, Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park, major water systems and other strategic locations to explore practical, bankable and long-term development opportunities.
Speaking at the dinner, attended by the Tunisian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mohsen Antit, the Gombe governor reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strategic South-South cooperation, sustainable development and transformative investments across critical sectors.
He stressed the need for African-led solutions to African challenges, describing the engagement as a model South-South development partnership.
“Nigeria and Tunisia are both developing countries. This is a South-South relationship, and I strongly believe that if Africans join hands and cooperate, the sky will be our limit,” he said.
Yahaya noted that intra-African collaboration driven by shared identity, business cooperation and mutual concern remained the most sustainable pathway to unlocking the continent’s vast potential.
He said the delegation’s visit had confirmed the huge untapped investment opportunities in Gombe, particularly in agriculture, water resources, energy and industrial development.
According to him, Gombe’s strategic location at the centre of the North-East, sharing boundaries with five states, offers access to a vast regional market and significant commercial prospects.
The governor added that the state boasts three major dams, vast arable land and an enterprising population, positioning it as a natural hub for agro-industrial expansion, renewable energy and water resource management.
“We are open and ready to work with you as partners in progress,” he assured the delegation.
In his remarks, Antit commended the Gombe governor for what he described as visionary leadership and a clear commitment to sustainable development.
He vouched for the credibility and technical capacity of the Tunisian investors, describing them as leading conglomerates in North Africa.
The ambassador also invited Yahaya to attend the Financing Investment and Trade in Africa (FITA) Forum scheduled for April in Tunis, noting that the platform would provide opportunities to unlock further investment and financing prospects for Gombe State.
Earlier, the Mission Coordinator and Chief Executive of African Network Centre Ltd, Alhaji Ahmed Shuaibu Gara-Gombe, said the delegation’s visit had opened new investment frontiers beyond water and energy to include irrigation, renewable energy, construction and industrial development.
He added that the technical assessments conducted would lay the foundation for structured project execution and sustainable partnerships, backed by signed Memoranda of Understanding between the parties.
