The Enugu State Patriots, a group of leaders across political divides, professional backgrounds, and community leadership positions, yesterday declared that Governor Peter Mbah is the single most viable political party in Enugu state today and endorsed him to continue in office till 2031.
Members of the group bared their minds in a communique read at the end of their meeting, which lasted several hours in the state capital on Sunday, during which they reviewed the trajectory of governance under the leadership of the governor in the last two years.
In the communique entitled “Peter Mbah is Our Party,” which was presented by Prof. Mathine Anikwe, the group said that Mbah has shone like a million stars and established himself as a poster boy of people-oriented governance at the sub-national level.
“With about 2,000 ongoing and completed projects across the state and across sectors, he has stamped his authority as a man, who came prepared to the business of governance.
“Importantly, even the President, the Vice President, and federal ministers, who are of a different party have variously confessed the unprecedented massive achievements of Governor Mbah in just two years,” the Enugu patriots added.
The group, while acknowledging Enugu state and South east’s long-standing relationship with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 1998, however said that the people of Enugu state were more interested in the governor’s vision to grow the state’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion in eight years, which is already on course.
“During this period, the region and Ndi Enugu have given the PDP their total support and have equally derived some benefits from the party in terms of development projects and political opportunities.
“Nevertheless, we make bold to say that with Governor Peter Mbah’s exceptional performance, he has become a viable political party of his own. He is the political party we know and wherever he leads, Ndi Enugu will follow.
“Therefore, there is no doubt that his second term as governor of Enugu State is sacrosanct, by God’s grace, in order to continue with the great job he is doing,” the group stated.
It also said that in addition to Mbah’s “great performance so far,” the state’s zoning arrangement was also an advantage to him.
“Besides his superlative performance so far, his second tenure is further assured by the well-entrenched zoning arrangement in Enugu state that ensures that power rotates from one zone to the other every eight years.
“This arrangement produced Chimaroke Nnamani from Enugu East Senatorial Zone (1999 to 2007), Sullivan Chime from Enugu West (2007 to 2015), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi from Enugu North (2015 to 2023), thus setting the stage for Enugu East’s return to the Lion Building through Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah in 2023,” the communique stressed.
Other speakers at the event included: A former National Youth Leader and National Secretary of the PDP, Sunday Udeh-Okoye; the traditional ruler of Ogboli Ohaja Autonomous community in Awgu LGA, Igwe Kingsley Okeke; former Commissioner for Transport, Enugu State, Luke Mmamel; Member representing Ezeagu State Constituency, Chima Obieze; Council Chairman of Nsukka LGA, Jude Asogwa; former member of Enugu State House of Assembly, Nkechi Omeje-Ogbu; and former Chairman of Nkanu West LGA, Henrich Okenwa.
They affirmed the people’s support for Mbah beyond political, zonal, and religious divides.
Some of Mbah’s ongoing or completed projects listed by the speakers include the 260 Smart Green Schools totaling 6,500 classrooms, 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centre totaling 3,300 beds; 260 units of 200-hectare Farm Estates across the 260 wards of Enugu State, raising of water production from 2 million litres a day to 120 million litres a day, and completion of the over 5,000-capacity Enugu International Conference Centre.
Others were the revamp of Hotel Presidential Enugu and Nigergas, ongoing rehabilitation of Sunrise Flour Mills, restoration of United Enugu Palm Products Limited, construction of over 800km of roads across the urban and rural areas, ongoing construction of the New Enugu City, and successful setting up of a mega asphalt plant.
Others include, the launch of Enugu Air with three aircraft, building of five mega modern Transport Terminals, procurement of 200 CNG BRT buses; establishment of the Nortra Tractor Assembly Plant and Service Centre, and the ongoing construction of 300-bed Enugu International Hospital and the Enugu International Conference 5-Star Hotel, both of which would be commissioned before the end of the year.
They equally highlighted Mbah’s strides in improving security, including the successful ban on illegal sit-at-home, construction of a sophisticated Command and Control Centre, installation of AI-enabled cameras across the state for surveillance, and setting up of the Distress Response Squad with over 150 security vehicles all fitted with state-of-the art cameras.
