Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, at the weekend, announced plans to commence construction of a 135-kilometre rail line traversing key parts of Enugu State in the next couple of months
The governor said the proposed rail line, for which feasibility studies had been concluded, would run from Ugwuoba through Udi, Ninth Mile, Enugu and Nsukka to Obollo Afor, positioning the state as a major economic hub.
This is as the people of Enugu North Senatorial District trooped out in large numbers to formally endorse his re-election and that of President Bola Tinubu.
Mbah made this known at an endorsement rally held at Nsukka Township Stadium, where he also reeled out achievements of his administration and defended ongoing reforms across sectors, promising that his administration would continue to make the state proud.
Mbah reiterated his government’s target of growing Enugu’s economy to $30 billion within eight years, stressing that the focus was on building strong economic fundamentals while ensuring that development remained people-centred.
He noted that investments in transport infrastructure, including modern terminals and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, were aimed at improving mobility and boosting commercial activities across the state.
Also, Mbah, at the weekend, promised to compensate Ogige Market traders whose shops were demolished about two years ago. The shops were demolished to make way for the Nsukka ultra-modern bus terminal, which has since become operational.
According to the governor, the compensation was to stabilise the businesses of the affected traders. He said the demolition was to remodel the market.
He said: “I was misunderstood when we went on to remodel Ogige Market. What was going through my mind was imagining what it would have looked like if we had transformed Ogbete Main Market with two modern terminals, the inter-state and intra-state, and we did nothing about Ogige Market or Nsukka!
“How would that have been interpreted? The people are the centrepiece of everything we do.
It is not about self-aggrandisement, posturing or politics, but about the people. We saw Ogige Market as a keg of gunpowder. If we didn’t do anything, and we had an emergency in that market, you would have been asked if you had a government in the state.”
