By Dr. Buchi Nnaji

Governor Peter Mbah’s recent appointment spree has inevitably raised a simple but important question in Enugu: why now? On August 19, 2026, the governor approved the appointment of 9 Special Advisers and 14 Senior Special Assistants, including appointments covering party coordination and mobilisation, inter-party affairs, social mobilisation, public communication and public affairs. Barely 16 days later, on September 4, the administration announced appointments to key state institutions, including the Civil Service Commission, TVET, ESUT, IMT, Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo and ESCET. Individually, these appointments may be defensible. Collectively, their concentration few months before the 2027 elections naturally invites public scrutiny.

There is nothing inherently wrong with appointing competent citizens into government or public institutions. I sincerely congratulate all the appointees and wish them success in their respective assignments. Some have verifiable professional and political backgrounds, and it would be unfair to question their competence simply because their appointments have generated political debate. Chief Ernest Nweze, for instance, was elected PDP Vice Chairman for Enugu West in 2024. The issue, therefore, is not the worth of the individuals appointed, but the scale, timing, composition and public implications of the appointments.

Government appointments are not cost-free announcements. They create obligations involving salaries, allowances, offices, personnel, logistics and other administrative expenditure. With 23 new political aides announced in August and another wave of appointments to important state institutions in September, Enugu taxpayers are entitled to ask what these appointments are expected to achieve. Government should disclose the financial and administrative implications of these appointments, and the measurable value they are expected to deliver. How many additional layers of administration does Enugu need, and what specific problems will each new position solve? These are legitimate accountability questions, not partisan attacks. Appointments cannot be allowed to become a substitute for political accountability.

The political character of some of the August appointments makes the timing even more difficult to ignore. Party Coordination and Mobilisation, Inter-Party Affairs, Social Orientation and Mobilisation, Public Communication and Public Affairs are clearly connected to political engagement. There is nothing unlawful about such responsibilities. But when an administration expands positions with obvious political relevance as another election approaches, citizens are entitled to examine whether the machinery being strengthened is primarily the machinery of governance, the machinery of politics, or both. If the administration believes its record is strong enough to speak for itself in 2027, then its performance should be the principal instrument of persuasion, not appointment letters.

There is also a political grievance that deserves serious attention. Across political circles, there has been a recurring complaint that some party stakeholders, grassroots mobilisers and campaign loyalists who worked for the 2023 mandate subsequently found themselves sidelined. That perception may not apply to everyone, but it cannot simply be wished away. Those who helped win the mandate should not have to wait until another election approaches before government remembers the political importance of grassroots stakeholders. If political inclusion is desirable today, the obvious question is why it was not accorded the same importance when the mandate was being built and defended.

The September 4 appointments, however, should be viewed somewhat differently. Appointments to the Civil Service Commission, TVET and the governing councils of ESUT, IMT, ESCET and Enugu State Polytechnic are fundamentally institutional appointments and should be judged primarily by competence, integrity, experience and their capacity to improve public administration and education. They should not automatically be labelled political patronage simply because they were announced during a politically sensitive period. But precisely because these institutions matter so much to the state, the government should explain the criteria behind the appointments and the reforms and measurable outcomes expected from the new leadership structures.

The broader issue is that Enugu people should not measure governance by the number of appointments announced. An appointment creates an office; good governance creates opportunities. A political favour may satisfy one individual, but it cannot solve unemployment, reduce hardship, improve public services or transform the economic fortunes of an entire community. Political appointments should serve governance, not become instruments for manufacturing loyalty. Public confidence should be earned through performance, accountability and inclusion. If the Mbah administration believes its achievements justify another mandate, it should make that case through the evidence of what has changed in the lives of citizens.

Ultimately, Governor Mbah has the constitutional authority to appoint, but he cannot appoint the conscience of the Enugu electorate. An appointment is temporary. A political favour is temporary. An office is temporary. But the consequences of how government is chosen, and how government performs, can endure for generations. The person receiving an appointment today may lose the position tomorrow; the citizen struggling with the consequences of government policy remains. As 2027 approaches, Enugu voters should therefore look beyond appointment letters, political access and temporary rewards. They should judge every candidate and every record with clear eyes and make their choice according to conscience, competence, performance and the permanent interest of Enugu State. No appointment should be allowed to buy what belongs to the people: their conscience, their judgment and their vote.

Dr. Buchi Nnaji is a political analyst, public affairs commentator and media practitioner, and writes from Enugu State, Nigeria.