ENUGU — The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) governorship candidate in Enugu State for the 2027 General Elections, Prof. Jehu Nnaji, has pledged to create 100,000 jobs within four years if elected.
Nnaji made the pledge in his acceptance speech after emerging as the party’s sole candidate at its direct governorship primary held at the NNPP State Secretariat in Abakpa Nike, Enugu, on Saturday.
He said his administration would pursue what he described as “total stewardship, total transformation and a total new Enugu.”
Nnaji said the job creation target would be achieved through agriculture, technology, the creative industry and industrial clusters in Emene, 9th Mile and Nsukka, while making Enugu an investment hub of the South-East.
He also listed security, economic revival, education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, workers’ welfare and local government autonomy among his priorities.
The candidate pledged to secure communities, farms and streets, and provide free and compulsory quality primary education, renovate public schools and make WAEC and NECO examinations free for Enugu indigenes.
He further promised free healthcare for pregnant women, children under five and persons aged 65 and above, as well as the revitalisation of Primary Healthcare Centres across the state’s 260 political wards.
Nnaji said his administration would support farmers with mechanised equipment, improved seedlings and guaranteed markets for agricultural products, including Adani rice, Nsukka yam and palm produce.
On infrastructure, he promised quality urban and rural roads, clean and constant water supply in Enugu metropolis within six months and rural electrification.
He also pledged regular payment of salaries and pensions, saying workers would receive their salaries on the 25th of every month, while pensioners would no longer experience delays in receiving their entitlements.
Earlier, the NNPP Chairman in Enugu State, Chief Chuba Nwadiogbu, said Nnaji emerged through a peaceful and transparent direct primary after no other aspirant indicated interest in the governorship ticket.
Nwadiogbu said the party would submit Nnaji’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within the stipulated period.
He expressed confidence that the NNPP would take over the Enugu State Government in 2027, citing rising taxes, high rent and poor road infrastructure as some of the issues confronting residents.
Nwadiogbu said the party had structures across the 17 Local Government Areas of the state and rejected the description of the NNPP as a northern party.
He said the party’s founder, Chief Boniface Aniebonam, was from Anambra, stressing that the NNPP was owned by Nigerians, including people from the South-East.
Nwadiogbu also said the party would not field candidates in the Sept. 26 Enugu State Local Government Elections because it did not believe the election would be fair.
A party member, Mr Udoka Ezeadachie, described the primary as successful, saying members had chosen a candidate they believed could provide effective leadership.
Nnaji, who hails from Amurri in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, thanked the delegates, members and leadership of the party for electing him as its governorship candidate.
