Prof Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia Jnr.
Convener COUNTRYFIRST MOVT, Policy Analyst, Leadership Trainer has hailed the performance of Enugu state governor, His Excellency Mr Peter Mbah.

Nwaokobia in a press statement said Mbah arguably comes across as the Governor with the best scorecard in 365 days. Ndi Enugu can attest to this truism. The Enugu space today tells lucid testimonies of the place of commitment, dedication, capacity and competency in transformational leadership. And such is the remarkable Story of Peter Mbah.

“I had a near 30 minutes private dialogue with His EXCELLENCY Peter Ndubuisi Mbah three days after he was sworn in as the Executive Governor of Enugu State in 2023. Interestingly I have elected to pen this Tribute in Profound Leadership in his honour exactly one year after that incisive dialogue.”

“The caption of this Press Statement cum Tribute in exemplary leadership came as he responded to my advise that he must endeavour to leave his footprints on the sand of time now that his vision and ambition to govern Enugu State has become a reality. To my advise, Peter Mbah retorted, Prof it is not just about footprints on the sand of time, I shall do things differently, he assured me.”

One year after, even the staunchest critic of Peter Mbah agrees indeed that things are being done differently. To Governor Peter Mbah democracy is nothing without the people. Conscious of this time tested praxis he set out to work with utmost alacrity knowing that without profound service to the people, democracy loses its defining ethos.”

“Barely one hour after he was sworn in as Governor on the 29th of May, 2023 he signed three Executive Orders.”

“The Orders were in regard to the Citizens’ Charter, which essentially outlined his commitment to the provision of jobs, as well as quality amenities and services that substantially improve citizens’ living condition; transparent and inclusive governance; and the convening of consultative town hall meetings to present government’s plans and receive citizens’ feedback.”

“That action was beyond symbolisms and was in no way driven by the quest for validation. It boldly reaffirmed his conviction to make the people the summum-bonum of his government’s policies. From the outset, there was absolute clarity about his vision for Enugu State, which could be summed up thus: To make Enugu one of the top three States in Nigeria in terms of Gross Domestic Product and achieve a zero percent rate in the poverty headcount index. This also includes the determination to grow Enugu State’s GDP from $4.4bn to at least $30b in the next four to eight years.”

“And taking that commitment beyond words or mere policy programmatic, Peter Mbah hit the ground running like one possessed by an excellent spirit. In one year the story is different. In one year the strides are lucid. In one year the dance is profound, and in one year there are monuments of reference.”

“On SECURITY. His government realized that nothing poses as much threat to the spirit of enterprise and, indeed, drains life out of a city as does criminality – or any hint of it. That explained why freeing the State from the stranglehold of an illegal sit-at-home order was among the earliest actions he took as Governor.”

Crime may be an ever-present fixture in the society. Nonetheless, the Peter Mbah administration has shown zero-tolerance for crime in Enugu State. And he continues to demonstrate this through the consistent fight against crime, strengthening the capacity of the Distress Response Squad and providing logistical support to the various security arms in Enugu State. It is noteworthy that in the last 365 days there has been significant drop in crime across Enugu State. And very importantly the Mbah administration has remained proactive and vigilant. This is evident in the setting up of a Security Command Centre which is technology-enabled to offer real-time, round-the-clock surveillance of the major streets and neighbourhoods via CCTV cameras placed at strategic locations. Need I inform you that more than 80% of the Enugu Metropolis is presently covered by CCTV, thanks to the man who has elected to do things differently.”

“Conscious of the fact that the primary reason for which governments exist is the protection of lives and property, the Peter Mbah Administration hastened to establish a Security Trust Fund in furtherance to the determination to keep the State safe and enthrone a sustainable platform to pool resources to fund the security needs of the State. The Trust Fund which has been signed into law helps to foster citizens’ engagement and inspire a renewed sense of civic responsibility.”

“Across all sectors within the past 12 months Gov. Peter Mbah’s commitment to the Citizens’ Charter and the courage to bring that vision to fruition has remained unbroken. The efforts of his Watch are vindicated by the visible turnaround in public infrastructure, and sustained increase in annual IGR. He is not reinventing the wheel, but has certainly created a suitable environment for the wheel to spin faster and unencumbered in a way that meets the urgency of now.”

“On WATER SUPPLY.
When Governor Peter Mbah gave a 180-day timeframe within which Enugu’s water problem would be solved, it wasn’t because he considered it a “low-hanging fruit” that could be easily notched. It was because he knew where the provision of potable water ranked on every resident’s wish list – and how urgently they wanted it to be ticked off.”

“He reckoned that the problem of acute shortage of potable water that Enugu residents had experienced for decades should by no means become a situation that simply has to be endured. The mere fact that an anomaly had persisted for so long is not an excuse for it to be normalized, as it were. That was why daily sights of children standing in long queues, with buckets and cans to buy water from tankers according to him were his most depressing encounters during his campaign for Governor.’

Daily water supply to Enugu municipal was an average of two million litres before the intervention of the present watch. Today, the Peter Mbah administration has upped that paltry figure to 120 million litres of daily water supply. And this was done within the projected timeframe.

The fact is that only about 45 percent of what constitutes Enugu metropolis was reticulated, comprising mostly the older residential neighbourhoods. Much of the outlying – and fairly recent – districts were never connected to the supply grid. The Mbah Administration has successfully delivered water to those areas originally on the distribution line, mostly including neighbourhoods where public water had not run in decades.

A good example is the Enugu Campus of the University of Nigeria (UNEC) my alma mater, where the Deputy Vice-chancellor upon seeing water gushing from the taps for the first time in over a decade was overjoyed. And the excitement for the students remain palpable knowing that the sanitary condition of the hostels has improved with regular water supply. Indeed Mbah is doing things differently.

Coal Camp is another such neighbourhood where the taps had been dry for longer than most residents could recall. So, the excitement was understandably evident. On a general note, the administration has achieved this level of coverage across the Enugu municipal: