Bauchi State Governor’s representative, Aminu Hammayo (3rd from left, holding mic) during the unveiling of the Bauchi Economic and Investment Summit logo in Enugu
By Tony Adibe
The Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed, has said that the industry and resilient nature of the SouthEasterners was the main reason Bauchi State considered wooing investors in the region.
Governor Mohammed spoke while addressing SouthEast industrialists, manufacturers, traders, investors, and other high-profile business owners during the unveiling of the Bauchi State Economic & Investment Summit to the South East of Nigeria, performed at De Castle Hotel, GRA, Enugu.
NewsBitsng.com reports that the unveiling of the Summit in the southeast City of Enugu was a strategic move for engaging southeast investors, development partners and key stakeholders to be part of the Bauchi State government’s effort in promoting the development and growth of the state and in building partnership that would ultimately impact on both zones.
The Bauchi State Economic and Investments Summit themed: “Rebuilding A Resilient Economy; Optimizing Investment & Partnerships,” is scheduled to hold between Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 October 2025 in Bauchi, according to Governor Mohammed.
He assured that Bauchi State, otherwise known as “The Pearl of Tourism”, would continue to give the support and guarantee needed to secure investments coming into the state. He said he would want the SouthEast investors to replicate their spirit of industry in Bauchi by investing and tapping the potentials in the state.
“Let me specially acknowledge the strong entrepreneurial spirit of the South East that is characterized by resilience, adaptability and a strong emphasis on self-reliance and hard work. We welcome this spirit to Bauchi and look forward to working with you,” he told the gathering.
Represented by the Secretary to the Bauchi State Government (SSG), Aminu Hammayo, Governor Mohammed said the purpose of the summit include, among others, to review the “key components of the State’s economy; to determine the private sector’s potential contribution to its expansion; and thereafter, assess the real opportunities that would ensure its integration into a much broader national and global economy.”
Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Nebo making his opening remarks
He said the summit would also “facilitate engagements between public and private project initiators alike, and foreign as well as local investors. To borrow from economic lingo, the Summit will afford an excellent opportunity to create a veritable ‘investment market’ in Bauchi.”
According to Muhammed, a lot of emphasis was mainly placed on growth rates ranging across states and countries over the years. “However, we must understand that growth is not an end in itself. Moreover, it has been acknowledged, even by the most prominent international economic institutions, that we must go beyond the quantitative measurement of growth rate, to seek a tangible improvement in people’s living conditions,” he said.
He explained that serving the human person and his overall well-being “should constitute the be-all and end-all of our investment choices, and our priorities for wealth creation. Similarly, it is only through the sustainable management of our resources that we can ensure true prosperity.”
He said that “this is a collective obligation, but it particularly concerns us as a nation, considering the fact that we have to catch up and also have numerous inequities often affecting us, for which we may lack the wherewithal to defend ourselves.”
Governor Muhammed further said: “we have become part of globalization. Our high population growth and expanding middle class create conditions conducive to market attractiveness in terms of mass consumption and infrastructure development. The youthfulness and dynamism of our population are reasons for optimism. The youth, in particular, are a major asset that should be at the forefront of technology to ensure that we hook up to an economy where innovation is, now more than ever before, a decisive factor of competitiveness.
“To this should be added the abundant and diverse natural resources, which progressively should be processed locally in order to be more beneficial to our economies. In a world marked by ever-growing economic and social interdependence, the challenge is to develop genuine areas of shared prosperity.
“This involves forging new types of economic and socio-political relations based on the idea of mutual benefit between partners. In this type of relationship, some contribute their financing capability and their technology, while others offer unique opportunities to be seized, and rare resources to be tapped, all in a fair and equitable exchange.”
He said such was the new type of relationship that “we should seek in economic partnership agreements with other partners,” adding that the private sector should play a key role in such a setup. “The State, which often occupies a prominent position in the economy, will need to foster business development. That is what we seek to see, and we will pursue efforts in that direction to lend the best possible support to domestic and foreign investments,” he said.
Governor Mohammed further said that it was important to promote the establishment of true win-win partnerships between local businesses and major international firms. “We are optimistic that the consolidation of these conditions will endear us even more to investors, especially as our State abounds with natural resources and varied soils, climates, and natural environments suitable for agriculture,” he stressed.
He said the Bauchi State Government was determined to encourage private investment with an appropriate legal framework put in place to that end. “The framework will enable the development of priority high-impact sectors,” he remarked.
According to him, “All these measures bear sufficient testimony to our strong determination to attract more and more productive investments so as to accelerate economic growth and prosperity for the people.
“Bauchi is a haven of peace with the greatest respect for the rule of law, on which we have invested massively. We have built strong institutions across sectors that are stable, functional, and harmonious. They are capable of adapting to societal trends to ensure social peace, the security of persons and property, economic development and prosperity as well as political stability at all times.”
Chairman of the occasion, and former Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo said that it was only a nice private sector that could “salvage Nigeria, and mining, industry, agriculture, commerce, are the roots to this emancipation of our land.”
Nebo said: “May I say this as I have always said. Anyone who thinks that government alone will change the whole of Nigeria for the better is making a whole mistake. It’s only a nice private sector that can salvage Nigeria.”
He said that the Bauchi State government has done what it ought to do by creating an enabling environment for “trade and commerce and mining and industry to thrive,” and also in “recognising that the economic Summit should not just be a national one, but an international summit for that matter.”
Nebo described Bauchi State as “a very hospitable place,” adding: “I don’t think anybody will go there and not be very welcomed for tourism, mining and agriculture, and so on.”
“I know that Bauchi is deeply gifted by various minerals that have not been given the kind of exposure that people ought to know about the development,” said Nebo, who also stressed, “So this is an opportunity for people to expand and grow the vibrant nation of our people.”
Nebo described Governor Mohammed as a “goal-getter and man of vision, and indeed, a visionary, who realised that “if you want trade and commerce to bloom, you go to the SouthEast; if you want people to promote trade and commerce, go to the SouthEast where people have the products.” He added, “Igbos are traders all over the world.”
He said, “I know Governor Bala very well. He does not do anything that will not be successful. And he has surrounded himself with a galaxy of young, brilliant lieutenants.”
He said that SouthEast investors regarded the Bauchi Economic summit as a bright movement that recognised the place of the zone in industry, trade, commerce and agriculture.
He urged the representatives of the various business interests in the southeast to disseminate the message taken from the unveiling of the Bauchi Economic summit to their various bodies.
“I would be very happy to see that the good number of Southeasterners who are into agriculture, industry, commerce, and mining are represented during the Summit in Bauchi State,” Nebo said.
The event featured the unveiling of the Bauchi Economic and Investment Summit logo by the Bauchi SSG, Aminu Hammayo, who represented Governor Bala Mohammed.
