The Executive Director of Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Advocacy Network (LEAD Network) Africa, an NGO, Chief Chukwuma Okenwa, says ‘Gov. Peter Mbah’s governance is truly and highly transformational’.
Okenwa said this on Tuesday in Enugu while reacting to the recent scorecard presented by Gov. Mbah on his governance in a Town Hall Meeting, which was themed: ‘Governance Issues: The Journey So Far”.
The LEAD Network boss said that what the governor had done in the past 18 months is commendable in terms of infrastructure and should be emulated by leaders who intend to serve their people in all sincerity.
He said that after delivering water to Enugu residents within six months in office, the governor is doing over 1,000 projects running simultaneously and turning the state into a huge construction site.
This, he said, remained unprecedented in the history of achievements of previous governors in the state.
According to him, each of the 260 political wards in the state, notwithstanding how remote the area is, have at least two projects or more being completed or running in them currently.
Okenwa noted that Mbah had given attention to over 16 years abandoned monumental and international projects such as the International conference Centre (ICC Enugu), Hotel Presidential and International Ultra-Modern Hospital among others.
“We are witnesses to massive road construction and reconstruction within Enugu metropolis and solar-powered street-lights everywhere to boost commerce, nightlife and security.
“Our ‘Mr Projects Governor’ has also constructed lots of rural link roads as well as directed each chairman of council areas to construct at least 10 kilometres of rural roads and install solar-powered street-lights in them.
“We are ‘eye-marking’ brand new smart basic schools and type-2 Primary healthcare centres in each of the 260 political wards in the state.
“We are seeing the three new commercial vehicles terminals in Enugu and Nsukka coming on stream, modern bus stop stands as well as the Enugu Air and aero-space hub projects coming up.
“Opened up the electricity market in Enugu State, opened up the basic health, nursing and midwifery schools and created more transparency in the land use system and work of the ministry of lands,” he said.
Okenwa said that Mbah remained the only governor that had kept his word in providing top notch and modern security systems through using hi-tech technology.
“Within 18-months, the state bought 100 brand new vehicles for its Distress Responses Squad (DRS); installed hi-tech cameras and searchlights in bus stops, junctions of densely populated areas and along major highways, while inaugurating a security Command and Control Centre.
“This is to show that Mbah is preparing Enugu State as a place people world over can come, do business, live and spend time on leisure with security full guarantee, while they contribute their quota to the development of the state.
“This is why he is currently building a new smart city in Enugu for such high worth and high net personalities within the country, Africa and the world, who will use Enugu as a base and home,” he said.
The LEAD Network boss said that what baffles the entire residents remained that Enugu State is not a high federal allocation and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) earner; but “Gov. Mbah is practically pushing all these projects at the same time”.
Okenwa urged residents and people of the state to keep supporting Mbah’s programmes and projects, adding: “All these initiatives and projects will reposition the state as a human capital development, health, commercial, tourism and financial hub”.
“We can see that gradually the vision of Gov. Mbah building the Enugu State economy from $4 million to $30 million within eight years is possible and achievable as the people support his sincere and visionary governance,” he said.
