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By Christian Enebe
“The commitment I made on my first day in office, and indeed every single pledge I made on the campaign trail are sacred pronouncements against which all my actions as governor should expectedly be benchmarked.”
The above statement was made by Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah of Enugu State, which formed part of his novel manifesto.
The Dr Mbah manifesto during the 2023 governorship electioneering in Enugu State seemed to re-echo the statement of Boris Johnson: “Times have been tough, the economy has been challenging, but I want to bring a fantastic manifesto for taking the city forward.”
Dr Mbah had obviously x-rayed the situation of the country, the challenges of the time and proferred a solution. He talked about the problem facing Enugu as a state and assured Ndi Enugu of the potency of his ideas in providing the needed solution and in moving Enugu State forward. This was clearly documented in his manifesto, where he introduced his idea to incorporate partnerships, boost commercial/economic activities, tourism and investment, towards addressing the challenges facing the state and unveiled strategies for inventing a new Enugu. He equally introduced the idea of disruptive innovation and showed how the key sectors would become productive and grow exponentially.
According to him, disruptive innovation would prepare the way by switching Enugu State from a consuming economy to a productive and robust economy.
As enshrined in his manifesto, he is in a mission to deliver quality, people-focused governance by making Enugu the preferred destination for investment, business, tourism and living and his vision is to make Enugu one of the top three states in Nigeria in terms of Gross Domestic Product, and achieve a zero per cent rate in the poverty headcount index.
Keeping faith with the promise
According to Manzoir Ahmed (2024), “a political manifesto ahead of an election is an individual’s or party’s pledge about their goals and priorities regarding major sectors of development, aimed at persuading citizens to vote them into power. The individual or party, in turn, has the obligation to fulfil the pledge it makes to the people.”
In his historic one year in office broadcast, Dr.
Mbah as though he was responding to Manzoir Ahmed stated: “The commitment I made on my first day in office, and indeed every single pledge I made on the campaign trail, are sacred pronouncements against which all my actions as governor should expectedly be benchmarked.”
By this statement, Governor Mbah acquiesces without prompting to the obligation to fulfill his pledge. Writing during the electioneering of 2023, Dakuku Peterside wrote: “no tool encapsulates the ideals and priorities of the candidates and their parties like the manifesto. Ideally , a manifesto is a compilation of the broad vision, development philosophy, ideological leaning and sector-specific policy options that a political party intends to pursue once elected.”
According to Dakuku, a manifesto is one of the ways of evaluating whether candidates understand the issues confronting the people and have good plans to solve them. It is also a tool to hold parties and candidates accountable for promises made during elections.
It is noteworthy that Governor Mbah’s statements as contained in his manifesto, give an indication as to what matters to him, his understanding of the situation, the challenges facing the state and his vision of the future of Enugu State. This doubtless underscores the benchmarking of his actions as governor on those pledges with clear commitment followed by a remarkable result.
It is apparent that Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah’s influence is already being strongly felt and well acknowledged in Enugu State and beyond. There is no doubt that a new Enugu as promised by Dr Mbah is realistic as he is keeping faith with his promises.
From the teeming supporters of Governor Mbah, to the opposition on its last legs; from the civil servants to the traders, from the youths to the market women, from motorists to the passengers, from the aristocratic to the plebians, from the urban dwellers to the rural dwellers across the state, who in the state has not acknowledged or at least, perceived the performance of Dr. Peter Mbah in the last one year as a sign of liberation and actualization of a new Enugu State? Which part of the state or sector has not felt the wind of political change that has pervaded the entire state with a strong ripple effect felt up to the boundaries and beyond. This is a direct result from the fact that Dr Mbah is keeping faith with his promises and the impact is well acknowledged as a dynamic force with a strong influence.
Mission and vision
On assumption of office, Dr Mbah, clear about his intentions, did not conceal his agenda for a new Enugu. He openly declared his mission and vision. “Our mission is to deliver quality, people-focused governance by making Enugu State the preferred destination for investment, business, tourism and living”, he declared, adding that “our vision is to make Enugu one of the top three states in Nigeria in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and achieve a zero percent rate in the poverty headcount index. This mission and vision will entail moving our Gross Domestic Product from it’s current $4.4billion to at least $30billion in the next eight years.”
His strategic objectives was designed to focus on peace and security, inclusive economic devopment, integrated sector-based productivity and growth, sustainable development for all citizens of Enugu State by 2031, overhaul of the system among others.
His strategic programmes are aimed at launching Special Agro-Industrial Processing zones in each senatorial zone, engage with private sector to implement technologies for agricultural systems transformation in Enugu State, partner with private sector to develop small and medium scale enterprises for processing, packaging logistics and marketing of agricultural produce. These have been religiously followed in keeping faith with his campaign promises.
Against this backdrop, the election of Governor Mbah in March 2023 apparently has a revolutionary potential which has been demonstrated in Enugu State in the last 12 months with undeniable results and budding exponential growth witnessed in the critical sectors of the state and progressing.
Governor Peter Mbah’s election defined a pathway and charted a new course of action in line with his manifesto to move Enugu State beyond the economic shackles that had hitherto held it down like many other states in the country that have remained at the consumer level over the years. His successful candidacy provided a template for Enugu’s fortune to move beyond the consumer level to a productive stage. His political philosophy is a catalyst for the acceleration of the economic recovery and development towards the realization of a new Enugu which apparently is in the offing.
The cardinal thrusts of Gov Mbah’s manifesto:
Education
Education is given priority attention in Gov Mbah’s Manifesto. According to Dr. Mbah, “our view on Education is that good education is the best tool for long term poverty eradication. In line with this, we shall ensure that all children have access to quality education, and that education in Enugu is lifted to the point where every school child looks forward to returning to a rewarding school every morning.” “Our curriculum at all levels will have an infusion of ICT education, soft skills acquisition and civic education “
This is the idea behind the 260 smart green schools across all political wards in Enugu state designed to offer our children world-class education tools of the 21st century, access to the internet, robotics and artificial intelligence which obviously places our children in a vantage position and shapes their future, enabling them to compete with their peers across the globe.
The implication of this development is that the foundations have been laid to digitalize Education in Enugu state. The tendencies now is that a smart new generation is about to be raised through a modern and effective education system.
In order to ensure that every Enugu child has access to this new initiative, Governor Mbah suspended all fees/levies from junior secondary school in all public schools in the state. An action believed to increase access to education by 25 percent. Governor Mbah made this even more realistic by the allocation of 33 percent of the state budget to education sector stressing that education remains the state’s greatest weapon against poverty. He further stressed his administration’s determination to ensure that the poorest child in the remotest parts of Enugu State receives world class education using tools of the 21st century.
Water resources
The challenge posed by scarcity of potable water in Enugu state received the attention of the governor Peter Mbah’s government as promised in his manifesto. According to Governor Mbah, “we will seek the collaboration of experts to tackle once and for all the water issues in our state.” We will adopt the following approaches: (I) Address all bottlenecks in the supply chain of water to Enugu metropolis, including repairs and optimization of all pumping substations along the route.
(II) Inspect the existing water lines within the urban areas and address any cases of pipe breakages and failed pipes and valves.
(III) increase our sources of water supply to include additional options such as industrial wells, rain capture systems etc.
This has been followed to the letters with initial results coming as early as 180 days into the life of this administration vide the commissioning of the 9th Mile 24/7 water scheme within 180 days in office, which is capable of producing 70 million litres of water per day with ongoing efforts to reticulate the water to homes thereby addressing a jinx of over two decades and restoring the hope once again for access to clean portable water within Enugu metropolis.
As stated in his manifesto, Governor Mbah’s administration has embarked on Rehabilitation of reservoir facilities, upgrade of break pressure tanks, revitalization of water schemes, activation of 18 industrial boreholes with 150 horsepower pumps among other efforts to ensure restoration of portable water supply.
This comprehensive approach has been a major source of relief and a clear indicator of Governor Mbah’s commitment to prioritizing citizens’ basic needs and keeping his promises.
Tourism development
According to Mbah, we will within the shortest possible time complete the Enugu international Conference Centre. To enhance tourism, we will also work with the Airports authority to activate the international terminal in Enugu.” This is the driving force behind the ongoing activities at the International Conference Centre where besides the ongoing work at the 5,000 capacity conference centre, work is simultaneously going on at the 5 Star International Conference Centre Hotel, Enugu.
According to Governor Mbah, the five-star facility is an investment enabler, which according to him is in line with his administration’s vision to make Enugu the preferred destination for investment, business, investment, tourism, and leisure, and to grow the state’s economy from $4.4bn to $30bn in four to eight years. He said his dream was to make Enugu the conferencing headquarters of Africa. In line with this initiative, Governor Mbah has elected to take over the construction of the international wing of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, His plan is to put in place facilities that would elevate the airport to a cargo hub to serve the entire South East and South South. This signposts a repositioning of the state in relation to potentiality to attract critical investors and investments.
Roads and bridges
In what was considered an aggressive bid, Governor Mbah, in his manifesto, stated that: “we will focus on dualization and surfacing of over 10,000 kilometers of road across the state using both direct state government funding, public private partnerships and partnership with local governments. We will also construct bridges in both urban and rural communities as well as flyovers to remove traffic bottle-necks.”
This inspired the massive road construction in the state with more than 71 roads constructed in Enugu urban areas Including Odudukoko and its environs in Gariki; Trans Ekulu, Premier Layout, College Road, Abakpa among others.
Healthcare
Governor Mbah is a visionary leader of note who has transcended above pettiness and trivialities. He focuses on the big picture without ignoring the details or any important minutiae. He is cut out for big and outstanding achievements. He sets out to take our healthcare to another level. Hence, he stated, “Our plan is to make the state a hub for medical tourism in West Africa. We will collaborate with the private sector and all the groups in the health sector to fashion outa sustainable healthcare architecture to advance the key components of our agenda.”
In one year, he is beginning to make good his promises and to work towards the realization of his big dreams by Initiating the building of new Type 2 healthcare facilities across the 260 electoral wards in the state towards guaranteeing access to affordable healthcare. Similarly, 30 PHCs are currently being built to compliment the type 2 health centres in ensuring quality healthcare of our people at al levels.
He has equally ensured employment of needed healthcare professionals to meet the healthcare needs of our people.
His Excellency, Dr Mbah’s government has so far executed these and numerous other projects that for want of space would not be discussed here. All these within 12 months on the saddle and in keeping to his campaign promises.
Security
When Governor Mbah firmly states that the primary responsibility of government is the provision of security, some naysayers thought it was a normal political statement. Upon assuming office, Governor Mbah demonstrated responsibility in government, bringing security to manifestation as pledged in his manifesto. Today, “Monday sir at home” is a thing of the past and reckless and incessant killing of citizens and law enforcement agents have been brought to the barest minimum, almost completely eliminated. The reason is not farfetched, someone is committed to keeping his promises to the people.
In less than a year, Governor Mbah has endeared himself to the good people of Enugu State and indeed the entire nation with his spectacular leadership style and unprecedented achievements, emerging the governor of the Year in the process with both Sun newspaper daily telegraph newspapers naming him the governor of the Year without any contention.
Moreover, Governor Mbah has provided tangible evidence that governance is different from politics by demonstrating magnanimity in power evidenced in carrying every part of the state and every citizen along in his programmes without any discrimination. His ability to galvanize the hope and energy of Ndi Enugu for a new beginning while reassuring them of a new Enugu is remarkable.
Change comes from within
Long before taking the oath of office, Dr. Mbah worked as a business man. He is an undisputed Professional and businessman with experience spanning about three decades. His track record entrepreneurship is topnotch. He is reputed for questioning the status quo in every industry he has found himself.
Governor Mbah understood that economic and social change comes from within a system, when the system is subjected to a disruptive innovation. As he ran for the position of Governor of Enugu State, he repeatedly said that change was possible, that a new Enugu was possible and that it can happen with a disruption of the system. He declared this to his teeming followers until it became an anthem. His manifesto on the other hand became a daily devotional and reference material.
A document which explained the answers to Enugu’s needs and challenges and which today has proven to be the right answers.
•Enebe writes from Awgu, Enugu State.
