The state Commissioner for Finance, Gombe State, Mohammed Magaji, stated this at the end of the SEC meeting on Friday in Gombe.
Magaji told the News Agency of Nigeria that the payment, which would commence immediately, would be for individuals and organisations along the gully erosion site.
He said almost 1 000 persons were expected to benefit from the gesture.
According to him, the compensation is part of the requirements of the World Bank, which specifies that such payments be made to property owners.
Magaji said the payment would also be made to ensure seamless resettlement of affected persons.
“The beneficiaries are in hundreds, almost 1,000 people; there is compensation for houses, and also for business premises.
“There is also stipends for the elderly living around that area so that they can have a good livelihood,” he said.
The Commissioner for Education, Aishatu Maigari, also said the SEC approved the upgrade of the five mega senior secondary schools in the state to sustain improvement in the education sector.
Maigari said the upgrade would be carried out based on the needs of each of the schools.
She stated that infrastructure in some of the schools was already being upgraded to global standards.
“We have seen the construction of toilets, installation of solar-powered light, construction of roads, school clinics, boreholes and many more,” she said.
NAN reports that the state government had on Nov. 23 signed an N12bn contract with Triacta Nigeria Ltd. for a 21-kilometre gully erosion control work in six communities within the Gombe metropolis.
The project is under the ACRESAL project, a World Bank-assisted project to address the challenges of land degradation and climate change in northern Nigeria.
NAN
