In a comprehensive document detailing his agenda for the people of Enugu state, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Dr Peter Mbah, has pledged to run a quality and people-focused government when elected.

In a 64-page manifesto/statement of purpose, tagged: “Ndi Enugu, Tomorrow Is Here,” the Owo, Nkanu East-born, British-trained lawyer, vowed to make Enugu one of the top three states in Nigeria in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and achieve a zero per cent rate in the poverty headcount index in eight years.

Mbah, who holds a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Maritime and Commercial Law, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Political Science specifically noted that he will raise the GDP of the state from $4.4 billion to $30 billion within the period.

A former Chief of Staff to Senator Chimaroke Nnamani and Commissioner for Finance in the state, Mbah stated that his mission is to make Enugu the preferred destination for investment, business, tourism and habitation.

As part of his objectives of achieving, peace and security as well as inclusive economic development, he promised to accelerate youth employment, introduce integrated rural development programmes as well as community policing and inclusion of all citizens in the governance of the state.

“We will achieve these through targeted policies and programmes to: Grow the GDP of Enugu state sevenfold in the next eight years, from the current level of $4.4 billion in 2022 to $30 billion by 2031,” he explained.

In addition, Mbah stressed that he would achieve a zero per cent rate in the poverty headcount index through government-enabled private sector development and reduce the percentage population in abject poverty to zero per cent, from the current levels by 2031.

To build confidence and de-risk investment flows, the businessman pointed out that his government shall foster a sense of belonging among Enugu people through proactive and transparent engagement with all stakeholders.

Through proactive community engagement and use of digital technologies, he posited that he will execute a performance-based social contract with the citizens of Enugu and be fully transparent and accountable to them on a continuous basis.

“My government will embrace modern technologies to entrench e-governance – publish digital state accounts annually, and implement quarterly delivery accountability reporting at all tiers of government- from the local government, civil service commissions and state cabinet.

“We will personally report to citizens on progress each quarter through an open State of Enugu Reports made available to all citizens of Enugu State through the social media.

“We will encourage all members of my government to do the same from councillors to commissioners and my cabinet. We will enact executive performance contracts with each of my direct reports and liaise with citizens to hold government accountable on quarterly basis,” he affirmed.

He promised to take ownership of all projects and programmes initiated and currently being executed by the government while projects still under construction at handover will be completed for the benefit of Enugu people.

In driving development across the industrial sectors, Mbah said the he and his team will adopt poverty eradication, promote ease of doing business and enhance access to funding as key measurable indicators.

On agriculture, he maintained that his objective in the sector shall be to: “Feed Enugu State and turn the state into a food-basket for Nigeria and a hub for export of cash crops”.

“The target is to eliminate food insecurity in the state by 2031 through massive investments in technologies for agricultural productivity in the state, technology-enabled agricultural extension services, implementation of specialised agro-allied industrial zones in all senatorial zones of the state, and accelerated technologies for agricultural systems transformation in Enugu State,” he said.

Among others, he explained that he would focus on harnessing the available resources in Enugu State to light up and power the state, create jobs for youth and women while growing the GDP by mobilising investments to develop energy, natural and mineral resources across the state.

“We shall strive to ensure that Enugu gains the status of an oil bearing and producing state within a year of our administration. To achieve this, we shall prevail upon the oil companies operating OPL 916 to bring into production, their wells within Enugu State, while we will engage with the investors in OPLs 914, 905 and 907 and work with them to achieve commercial production in their fields.

“The resulting natural gas from these production activities will be gathered for use in powering industries in the State. Additionally, we shall seek collaborations with reputable investors to commence the economic exploitation and exploration of the other key minerals in the state,” he noted.

Mbah stressed that his government shall establish industrial parks and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in each senatorial zone of the state focusing on key areas of competitive advantages.

To facilitate venture capital investment in existing Medium and Small Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in selected areas, he promised to float in partnership with venture capital firms an over N100 billion venture capital for the businesses in the state per annum.

“Within the First 100 days in office, the Enugu State Investment Forum (ESIF) shall be convened to bring together all the key players needed to drive and sustain investments in key areas of commerce and industry in the state,” he added.

Because he understands that shelter is a basic human need, Mbah said his focus will be geared towards the provision of mass housing programme.

He noted that this will be affordable to cross sections of the populace as well as establishment of housing finance schemes, including mortgage schemes to assist those willing to buy and own their own homes as well as generation of revenue through appropriate administration of property tax.

In view of its development plan, he posited that Enugu will seek to evolve a multimodal transport system incorporating light rail, tram services and inland waterway services to complement the existing road transportation.

He stressed that the ongoing efforts at digitalisation of the High Courts will be completed and expanded to cover court administration.

In addition to this, Mbah said that he will address the current internal security issues resulting in the agitation for separation.

“Our preferred approach is to engage all our people in maintaining peace which is necessary for growth and development. Measures taken would be geared towards community participation in the provision of security so that our farmers can return to their farms without fear of molestation. We will expand collaborations with the security agencies in communities,” he said.

He said that because education in Enugu state has benefitted from a significant investment in infrastructure in the last seven years, this has resulted in the state’s ranking as number one in the utilisation of the Universal Basic Education funds based on the recent evaluation by the national Universal Basic Education Board as well as the excellent performance in the 2021 West Africa examinations, where the state came first among the 36 states.

“We will build on this achievement in our quest to revolutionise education in Enugu state. Education empowers the individual; and provides key manpower needs for the state to develop.

“Therefore, we will carefully ensure that we provide qualitative formal and informal education across the state from primary to tertiary levels,” he added.

Mbah also pledged the provision of a daily healthy balanced meal for each child from primary to secondary school, free malarial prophylaxis and vitamin supplementation.

Furthermore, he pledged to provide free immunisation for the key preventable diseases as well as provision of free health checks including visual and ocular checks, hearing checks, and checks for attention disorders.

On sports, he said that sports is not only for recreation, but also a huge profitable business.

According to him, with a proper policy and implementation, the state ought to generate revenue through sports and sporting events which he said are tourist items.

SUN