BY JUDE OSSAI / ENUGU
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The people of Enugu North Senatorial District (Nsukka Zone) have endorsed President Bola Tinubu and Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State for a second term in office, citing developmental projects, among others as reasons for their support.
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The zone, comprising six of the 17 local government areas of Enugu State – Nsukka, Igboeze North, Igboeze South, Udenu, Uzo Uwani, and Igbo Etiti – also presented a cheque for the sum of N102 million for Mbah’s reelection nomination form.
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They said the Tinubu and Mbah administrations had made unprecedented positive contributions to the growth and development of the zone, listing critical infrastructural transformations and Prof. Simon Ortunaya’s appointment as the first indigenous Vice Chancellor 65 years after the founding of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
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This was even as Governor Mbah officially flagged off several road projects totaling about 70km, including the 52.2km Nguru – Lejja – Aku – Akpakume Nze – Egede – Affa – Eke road, and vowed to transform the zone into an economic engine.
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Mbah equally promised to support Ogige Market traders with seed money to stabilise their businesses after the remodeling, reiterating that his earlier intervention was with the best intentions to prevent avoidable tragedies.
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Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai; former governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Chairman, Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Samuel Asadu; Chairman of the rally organising committee, Chief Ikeje Asogwa; thought leaders, youths, and women groups declared their total support for Tinubu and Mbah during a mega endorsement rally at Nsukka Township Stadium on Saturday.
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In an endorsement proceeding presided over by former federal legislator, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, the people unanimously endorsed the President, observing that with the President’s partnership with Mbah, “we who were once far off have been brought near and integrated into the mainstream of the Nigerian project, with all its benefits.”
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This was sequel to a motion proposed by the House Member representing Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, Hon. Dennis Agbo, and seconded by Hon. Mark Obetta (Nsukka/Igboeze South Federal Constituency).
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Hon. Agbo listed the resumed funding and ongoing construction of the Oturkpo – Obollo Afor – 9th Mile Enugu Expressway, Enugu – Port Harcourt dual carriageway, expedited work on the Enugu – Onitsha Federal Expressway, the successful concession of Akanu Ibiam International Airport, the creation of the South East Development Commission, and the recent promise to accelerate work on the Port Harcourt – Enugu rail line as part of the grounds for Tinubu’s endorsement.
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“Oha Nsukka also noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made it possible for our state to be connected to the National Gas Grid to unleash our buoyant gas resources and ultimately confirm our status as an oil-producing state for full derivation advantage,” he said.
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They added that Tinubu had addressed the decades of marginalisation and exclusion suffered by the South East by appointing several sons of Enugu State and Nsukka into prominent positions Ndigbo were hitherto excluded from.
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“Our brother, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, is the current Chief of the Air Staff. Major General Evaristus Ifeanvi Okoro is the current Military Secretary (Army). Major General Valentine Okoro is the current Head of Training (Army). Admiral Ikechukwu Ogalla (Rtd.) is the immediate past Chief of the Naval Staff, while Mr Frank Mbah just retired as Deputy Inspector General of Police.
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“Others have been appointed and are serving in federal MDAs, including Mr Peter Eze, Engr. Ogboo Asogwa, Engr. Ikechukwu Ugwuegede,” he stated.
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Also, the Deputy Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Ezenta Ezeani, in another motion seconded by Hon. Chukwuma Ekwueme (Uzo-Uwani State Constituency), observed that Mbah had “demonstrated uncommon leadership, improved security architecture, and massive infrastructural transformation across urban and rural communities.”
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He listed critical infrastructure such as the ongoing dualisation of the Enugu – Opi Nsukka Road, upgrade of the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) at Igbo-Eno, 102 of the 260 Smart Green Schools, and 102 of the 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres, among other interventions by Mbah.
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“These are not promises. These are visible, measurable realities. Leadership is not judged just by intentions, but by outcomes. And when a leader delivers, continuity becomes not just desirable, but necessary. Interrupting it now would be like abandoning a harvest halfway through the season,” he stated.
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Meanwhile, Mbah, who described the turnout as massive, commended the people for endorsing Tinubu, stressing that gratitude is the mother of all virtues.
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“Let me take you three years back. You told us you wanted your own as the Vice Chancellor of UNN. So, your endorsement of the President matters because he was the leader who broke this 65-year-old jinx. That is why January 2027 matters,” he declared.
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Mbah said he was on course to transforming Nsukka into an economic engine and a viable education centre capable of retaining her products.
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He reassured that the dualisation of the Enugu – Ugwogo Nike – Opi Nsukka Road, the major artery into Enugu North and a gateway into northern Nigeria, would be commissioned by October 2026.
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According to him, the projects are part of a larger strategy to move Enugu from a $4 billion economy to a $30 billion economic powerhouse within eight years.
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“Let me tell you what to expect in the next four years. We are going to move Nsukka from being just a large district on the map to the engine of the new enormous economy.
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“We have concluded the feasibility studies, and we are soon going to start the construction of a 135.5km rail line. It is going to integrate the state’s economy and ease the movement of goods and services.
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“It will cover several parts of Enugu, including Ugwuoba, 9th Mile, Enugu City, Nsukka, and Obollo Afor,” he said.
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He said that impossibilities did not exist as far as his administration was concerned.
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“You know the typical thing is that when we made promises, we were almost always scoffed at by skeptics. We were told this was overambition, this is not possible. But I think we have proven skeptics wrong. We have shown that impossibility does not exist in our dictionary. Where there is a will, there is a way,” Mbah asserted.
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He, however, stated that his government had determined from the outset to grow the state’s economy from $4.4bn to $30bn, “but not at the expense of our humanity.”
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He took time to explain that the steps he took on Ogige Market, Nsukka, were borne out of genuine concern and the need to prevent avoidable human tragedies in emergency situations, stressing that “it is extremely important that you know that everything we do, the people are the centrepiece of it. It is not about posturing and not about politics.”
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“I know we were misunderstood when we undertook to remodel the Ogige Market. But imagine what it would have looked like if I transformed Ogbete or Holy Ghost with two modern terminals – the interstate terminal and the intrastate terminal – and I did nothing about Ogige Market. How could that have been interpreted?
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“We saw Ogige Market as a keg of gunpowder. We were sitting on a keg of gunpowder.
If we did not do anything and we had an emergency situation in that market, questions would have been asked if we had government in this state because there was no way we would have moved emergency interventions into the market.
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“But you may already have noticed that we just started doing some shops there to bring back those people who were affected. And we are also going to give those directly affected seed capital to restart their trades,” he stated to loud applause.
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Mbah, however, did not conclude without pooh-poohing political detractors, who refer to him derisively as a potential “one-term governor” while simultaneously campaigning for a single term for themselves.
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“Someone said to me, ‘you are only going to be a one-term governor.’ Then the same person turns around and tells Ndi Enugu, ‘give me a chance, I am only going to serve one term.’
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“Is it not counter-intuitive? Can you diminish one-term government and then come to lie to the people to give you one term?” he queried.
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“Enugu is at the brink of a historic turning point. Enugu’s profile is rising. Enugu is that model of good governance in the country today. And, please, do not let anyone steal what trust has built,” he concluded.
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Meanwhile, Mbah has described the 52.2km Nguru – Lejja – Aku – Akpakume – Nze – Egede – Affa – Eke road as a major economic enabler and corridor.
Flagging off the project earlier, he said
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“There is no better enabler or key enabler than roads that will connect communities and connect people to opportunities. That is what we are doing. The stretch of this road is 52.2km, but if you then add the other roads like Amachara to Barracks, from Mechanic Village, and many others like that, we are doing about 70 kilometers,” he stated.
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Other speakers at the Nsukka Zone mega rally include the Chairman of Nsukka LGA, Engr. Jude Asogwa; Chairman, Organising Committee, Chief Ikeje Asogwa; former Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Dr. Dan Shere; Patron, City Boy Movement, Chief Charles Mbah; APC Zonal Woman Leader, Dr. Oby Ajih; former Speaker, Hon. Eugene Odoh; CEO of Ferotex Construction Company Limited, Engr. Festus Oshaba; Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu; and APC chieftain, Chief Vita Abbah.
