|By Nnamani Arinze Darlington
In just three years, Enugu State has witnessed a transformation so sweeping that it literally stares one in the face. But in an era of cynicism, when obvious truths can so easily be denounced without the least scruple, the architects of such unprecedented development have compiled it into a single, formidable record.
The result is truly mind-blowing: more than 10,000 milestones across infrastructure, human capital, revenue, industry and governance.
On Wednesday, September 9, at the International Conference Centre in Enugu, Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah’s administration publicly presented a compendium titled A Thousand and One Reasons Why Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah Should be Re-elected as Governor of Enugu State.
The document is not mere rhetoric. It is presented as a ledger of concrete delivery that positions Enugu on an irreversible trajectory towards prosperity. The structured publication is evidence-based and reflects a stated commitment to accountability.
At the heart of the record are tangible physical assets.
More than 1,521 kilometres of roads have been constructed or reconstructed, knitting communities together and opening new economic corridors. More than 7,000 classrooms have been delivered, while 260 Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres now stand ready to bring essential healthcare services closer to citizens.
The New Enugu Smart City is rising. Enugu Air is flying. Long-dormant state assets are being revived after decades of neglect.
A robust fiscal performance underpins these gains. Internally generated revenue surged from ₦26.8 billion in 2022 to ₦406.7 billion in 2025.
Crucially, only ₦51.5 billion, representing 12.6 per cent, came from tax sources, while ₦355.2 billion, or 87.4 per cent, flowed from non-tax revenues unlocked through reforms, Consolidated Demand Notices, the Treasury Single Account, electronic payment systems and tighter controls designed to plug leakages.
Governor Mbah understands that true development should not place an undue burden on the masses.
Rather than taking the simplistic route of imposing higher taxes, the administration has sought to monetise state assets, improve revenue collection and seal fiscal leakages.
Unlike the long-standing pattern in which recurrent expenditure often takes the larger share of public budgets, capital expenditure has dominated successive budgets under the present administration — accounting for 79 per cent in 2024, 86 per cent in 2025 and 80 per cent in the 2026 estimates.
This, supporters argue, demonstrates a government committed to prioritising investment and development.
Agriculture and industrialisation form another major pillar of the administration’s agenda.
A ₦100 billion investment is expanding Enugu United Palm Products Limited from 6,700 hectares to approximately 20,000 hectares under a public-private partnership with Diamond Stripe Limited, also known as Pragmatic Palms Limited.
Commercial production of refined palm products has commenced, with a further $2.2 million committed to a refinery for palm oil and palm-kernel products.
The 10,000-hectare Enugu Tribu Songhai Farms in Ezeagu is also being revived, while the Premier Cashew Industry is targeted for restoration.
In addition, 200-hectare farm estates are planned across the state’s 260 political wards.
Complementary projects include the Nortra Tractor Assembly and Service Plant, in partnership with Denmark’s ODK Group; an Integrated Livestock Development Centre at Ubahu/Amankanu; and mechanised agricultural initiatives in partnership with the South East Development Commission.
Industrial revival is equally striking.
Nigergas Limited, established in 1962 and idle for decades, was brought back to life in August 2025 with modern equipment producing medical and industrial gases.
The facility currently produces 100 cubic metres of oxygen and 45 cubic metres of acetylene per hour, with plans to add nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide and compressed natural gas to its product line.
Other notable interventions include the completed International Conference Centre, the upgrade of Hotel Presidential and the ongoing revival of Sunrise Flour Mills, among other strategic projects.
In education, the Smart Green School programme is arguably the poster image of the unfolding renaissance in Enugu State.
Yet the initiative has attracted criticism which, according to its proponents, is rooted either in misunderstanding or outright mischief.
Designed around experiential learning from early childhood, the programme integrates technology, robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and the Internet of Things.
Pupils receive free uniforms and daily meals, while Smart/Model Secondary Schools are being developed across the 17 local government areas. Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions are also planned across the federal constituencies.
The Government Technical College, Enugu, has been transformed from a dilapidated shell into a modern institution equipped for practical training and capable of accommodating up to 1,000 students.
Aviation completes the picture of expanded horizons.
Enugu Air has strengthened connectivity to Abuja, Lagos and Kano, while regional expansion is expected to begin with the planned Enugu-Douala service from September 23, 2026, followed by other West and Central African destinations.
The longer-term ambition is to establish direct international links beyond the continent.
Independent assessments, the administration says, further corroborate the narrative.
The 2026 Phillips Consulting States Performance Index ranked Enugu highest among assessed states for improvement relative to the national average across 37 indicators covering security, education, health, infrastructure, governance, economic development and fiscal performance.
Meanwhile, Enugu climbed from 35th to sixth place in the national ease-of-doing-business rankings compiled by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council.
Governor Mbah’s team has invited critics and prospective challengers to move beyond familiar talking points and present clear and distinct alternative agendas.
The record presented by the administration — roads, classrooms, primary healthcare centres, revenue transformation, industrial revival, educational modernisation and aviation expansion — is offered as verifiable evidence of its performance.
Finally, Mbah is a dreamer whose convictions amplify the words of Liberia’s former President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf: “If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.”
Mbah’s dreams do not scare him. They instead appear to scare the bystanders.
He comes with a fierce sense of urgency to give meaning and energy to leadership and governance, obviously inspired by his uncommon accomplishments in the private sector.
There, he founded Pinnacle Oil and Gas and took the company from a small, late entrant in the industry, operating from a one-room apartment with two staff members in Lagos, to a multi-billion-dollar corporate giant with about 23 per cent market share, competing ahead of some of the long-established major distributors in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum subsector.
Undoubtedly, Governor Mbah, in the words attributed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is “doing fantastically well”, and many Ndi Enugu are happier for it.
With 39 months already gone in his four-year term, it is difficult to dispute the argument that he has emerged as a prominent example of performance-driven governance at the sub-national level in Nigeria today.
For his supporters, the achievements already secured constitute a compelling mandate for continuity through 2031.
Enugu is no longer waiting for greatness.
Under Peter Mbah, it is building it one milestone at a time — more than 10,000 of them in only three years.
Nnamani Arinze Darlington is the Special Assistant to Governor Mbah on Media.
