#LeadershipAward: Dr. Peter Mbah, The Man Fixing it All - Sullivan Edeani | CABLE REPORTERS

Today, April 08, 2025, the air in Abuja hums with a golden buzz as Dr. Peter Ndubisi Mbah, the outstanding Governor of Enugu State, receives the coveted “Governor of the Year” award from the prestigious Leadership newspaper. Earned and nominated for this prestigious honor earlier this year, Mbah’s moment of anointment unfolds during the today's LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards, under the theme “The Challenges and Opportunities in Nigeria’s Fiscal Federalism” at the Old Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja. This accolade is a dazzling beacon in a torrid epic of reinvention that sparked when he clinched the Enugu gubernatorial helm on May 29, 2023, on a promise of ushering in tomorrow, today.  With a graceful hand and a mind that proms with bold ambitions, Mbah has spun a web of progress across all of Enugu’s governance sectors, from security, education, infrastructure, healthcare, transportation, agriculture and more;  proving a maestro of restoration, a man who, with a sly wink and a knowing nod, purrs, “I’ve got this all in hand.”

As Leadership raises its flag of adulation today, let us look headlong into the pristine maze of his endeavors, from the smooth allure of the Coal City BRT buses to the skyward visions of Enugu Air, and luxuriate in the graceful sway of stewardship that has claimed him this exuberant acclaim.

In the shadowed corridors of Enugu's yesterday, the specter of sit-at-home orders, enforced by the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), once held the state in a vice-like grip, stifling its economic pulse and dimming its vibrant spirit. Comes Governor Mbah, a man whose resolve is as unyielding as steel, who strode onto this stage with a bold statement to banish this malaise. And banish it he has, (largely, if not entirely), ushering in a renaissance of normalcy and economic power that has the state humming with renewed life. At the heart of this triumph lies the Enugu State Command and Control Centre, a technological marvel inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu in January 2025. Bristling with artificial intelligence and cutting-edge surveillance, this nerve center, paired with a fleet of 150 patrol vehicles, each adorned with AI-embedded CCTV cameras, has turned crime prevention into an art form, a seductive ballet of vigilance and response. But Mbah’s mastery doesn’t end there. With a flourish of financial mysticism, he generated over N3 billion through the Enugu State Security Trust Fund in February 2025, arming the state’s defenses with resources as robust as they are fascinating. The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, couldn’t resist tipping his hat, muttering polished praises about “excellent results” born of Mbah’s formidable collaboration with law enforcement. Outlaws, once sashay with impunity, have been either neutralized or sent packing. 

If security is Mbah’s shield, education is his torch, glistening the path to Enugu’s tomorrow with a brilliance that dazzles the senses. Across the state’s 260 wards, he has unfurled a grand vision: 260 Smart Green Schools, each a bastion of eco-friendly enlightenment where academic rigor meets sustainable bait. Picture it; digital boards casting their glow, science labs whizzing with discovery, and connectivity so robust it could make even the most stoic technophile blush. In January 2025, President Tinubu, with a nod of approval, commissioned 30 of these completed temples of learning, proclaiming Mbah’s efforts a “fantastic job,” while Vice President Kashim Shettima, dubbed them a “national benchmark”. With a 2025 education budget of N320.61 billion, the heftiest in Nigeria, Mbah has ensured that no child is left in the shadows, their minds ripe for plucking in this orchard of opportunity.

The Leadership award, bestowed today at the Old Banquet Hall, winks knowingly at this investment, which stretches its tendrils into Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and breathes new life into venerable institutions like ESUT and IMT. Dr. Dakuku Peterside, a sage of sorts, has dubbed Mbah a “pacesetter in education,” a title glossed further by an honorary doctorate from 

 Enugu State University of Science and Technology in December 2024 and Ekiti State University in March 2025. These efforts are no mere dalliance; they are a full-throated lure of Enugu’s youth, arming them with the tools to conquer a knowledge-driven world.

Mbah’s infrastructure revolution is a symphony of asphalt and ambition, a network of roads that pulse through Enugu’s 260 wards like veins through a lover’s form. In the urban sprawl of Enugu City, 90 roads have been tamed and completed, easing the chokehold of congestion and weaving a web of connectivity that’s as practical as it is provocative. Grand projects like the dualization of the Nike-Opi-Nsukka and Abakpa-Ugwogo-Opi-Nsukka Roads have opposition parties and activists like Comrade Obiora Omeje swooning, praising Mbah’s ability to “walk his talk” with a swagger that’s hard to ignore. A few days ago, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga, the first runner-up and 2023 gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party, returned to the PDP and declared his support for Dr. Peter Mbah. Just today, Hon. Gabriel Lebechi, member representing Isi-Uzo State Constituency, also decamped from the Labour Party to the PDP on the floor of the Enugu State House of Assembly. Moreso, on March 18th 2025 Dr. Peter Mbah flagged off the construction of new 141 urban roads across 13 zones of the state capital, It’s telling that even Senator Chukwuka Utazi confessed he lost his way in Enugu, owing to the recent and rapid development of the state capital. I too, returning from Japan last December, I found myself caught between wonder and recognition, amazed, yet unsurprised. Even the rural hinterlands, such as Mburubu, now bask in the glow of modern roads, complete with drainage systems that whisper promises of integration into the state’s grand developmental embrace. Akpawfu is also at the verge of having their first-ever tarred road: a story on the brink of its telling. These thoroughfares are more than mere pathways; they’re the lifeblood of Mbah’s audacious dream to swell Enugu’s economy from a modest $4.4 billion to a voluptuous $30 billion, transforming the state into a siren call for investment and tourism. Leadership, with its keen eye, celebrates this as a transformative thrust, even so, Ndi Enugu celebrates it the more.

In the healthcare sector, Mbah’s touch is as tender as it is tenacious. Across Enugu’s 260 wards, Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres rise like sentries of wellness, with 60 completed and equipped by March 2025. Mbah’s swift response to crises, like the January 2025 fuel tanker accident, reveals a leader who doesn’t merely flirt with responsibility but embraces it fully. His investment in the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences, Igbo-Eno, adds a scholarly sheen to his health agenda, ensuring that quality care isn’t just a privilege but a right, delivered to the grassroots with a lover’s care. We all, just as Leadership, takes note, saluting this holistic approach as a vital thread in Mbah’s governance.

In Agriculture, Mbah’s agrarian revolution is a fertile affair, with 260 farm estates, each sprawling over at least 200 hectares, sprouting across the state. This isn’t just farming; it’s a modernization of the soil’s embrace, a bid to ensure food security that’s as robust as it is ravishing. In January 2025, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, couldn’t resist praising these efforts, noting their economic attraction. The first farm estate is set to commence in Akpawfu, Nkanu East and with the acquisition of 1,000 tractors aims to enhance agricultural productivity in the state. Mbah's strategy involves already imported 200 fully assembled tractors, while the remaining 800 is now been assembled locally at the Nortra Tractor Assembly Plant in Enugu. Leadership’s award, conferred today at the Old Banquet Hall, nods approvingly at how these farm estates bolster Mbah’s economic ambitions, sowing jobs and sustainability in equal measure, a harvest that promises to feed Ndi Enugu

Perhaps the most recent thrilling feather in Mbah’s cap, is the April 2025 debut of eco-friendly Coal City BRT buses. These sleek chariots of modernity will glide through Enugu, promising a transport system so seamless and safe it could make hearts skip a beat. By bolstering security and connectivity, they’ve given hope to rekindle the state’s nightlife, coaxing residents out into evenings once cloaked in fear. This isn’t just about mobility; it’s a full-on lure of the senses, creating jobs, boosting revenue, and aligning with Mbah’s vision of a 24-hour economy that pulses with life.

And then there’s Enugu Air, a soaring testament to Mbah’s boundless ambition, set to take flight soon with one aircraft on the ground. With this, Enugu becomes only the second Nigerian state to claim its own airline, a bold stroke that Leadership can’t help but admire today at the Abuja conference. Announced amid a tête-à-tête with filmmakers in March 2025, this venture promises to spruce up travel woes, linking Enugu to the global stage and beckoning trade, tourism, and investment with a come-hither glance. It’s innovation with altitude, a move that cements Mbah’s status as a pacesetter.

Therefore, the Leadership “Governor of the Year” award, formally bestowed today during the LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards 2024 at the Old Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja, is no mere trinket; it’s a resounding encore for Dr. Peter Mbah’s virtuoso performance. From outmaneuvering security threats to erecting smart schools, roads, health centers, farm estates, a transport revolution, and a state-owned airline and more, Mbah is a man who fixes it all with a flourish. Enugu thrives under his gaze, earning bipartisan accolades from President Tinubu, Vice President Shettima, and citizens who revel in his transformative touch. Here’s to Dr. Mbah, a leader whose legacy, celebrated on this day, is a sultry serenade to the power of visionary governance.

Ride on, Your Excellency; Ndi Enugu are filled with keen expectation as they look forward to the more remarkable transformations that will unfold over the next six years under your visionary leadership. Indeed, our Tomorrow is Here.

Sullivan Edeani

Writes from Tokyo, Japan.