Category: News

…Says 2024 Enugu’s year of disruptive economic growth

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has predicted a bright 2024 for Nigeria, urging citizens to keep hope alive, as the gains of some 2023 economic policies would begin to trickle in, in the new year.

Mbah also assured the people of Enugu State of disruptive economic growth in the new year, given the various projects, policies, and laws, including the state’s 2024 Appropriation Law rolled out by his administration in the just ended year.

The governor stated this in his New Year message to Nigerians and the people of Enugu State on Sunday.

He said: “It is not in doubt that 2023 was a very difficult year for Nigerians, especially given the temporary hardships occasioned by some hard, but inevitable, policies of the Federal Government, such as the removal of fuel subsidy and unification of exchange rates. But I am very confident that the gales of inflation, unemployment, and general high cost of living will abate in the coming year.

“The onus is, however, on us, as leaders, at every stratum of government, to intensify efforts and initiatives to not only mitigate the immediate hardships, but also take advantage of the economic policies to put the nation on the path of prosperity.”

Recalling some landmark groundworks done by his administration since its inauguration on 29th May 2023, Mbah said he had no doubt whatsoever that Enugu was at the cusp of economic prosperity.

“In the past seven months, we had7 endeavoured to lay foundations for a new and prosperous Enugu State that would be a premier destination for business, investment, tourism and living. We equally undertook monumental tasks that broke decades-old jinxes in some sectors.

“As promised during the campaigns, we were able to deliver potable water to Enugu metropolis in 180 days. We were able to raise water production from an occasional 2 million litres to 120 million litres per day, even as we continue to address teething challenges like leakages and sabotage while also expanding reticulation.

“We took advantage of the Electricity Act, 2023, signed by President Bola Tinubu in June by immediately initiating the Enugu State Electricity Law, which I signed in September to pave the way for an Enugu electricity market to support our investment and the industrialisation drive.

“We are cashing in on the FG’s economic policies in our quest for foreign direct investment, FDI, holding the maiden Enugu State Investment and Economic Growth Plan Stakeholders Roundtable, organising or participating in various local and international investment forums to rally investments to our state, and the results are massive.

“We have equally fought insecurity, criminality, and agent provocateurs to standstill; hence, today, Enugu is safe and ready for business.

“We are currently constructing or reconstructing 71 urban roads in Enugu metropolis and ten other major roads across the state, including the 40km Owo-Ubahu-Amankanu-Neke-Ikem dual-carriage way, while the construction of the 10,000-hectare New Enugu City has begun.

“We have already begun the construction of 260 smart schools across the electoral wards to provide modern basic education to Enugu children from creche to junior secondary in addition to world-class 260 Type-2 primary healthcare centres for all the wards across the state.

“In pursuit of ease of doing business, we are automating service delivery across the MDAs, including the Ministry of Lands and Urban Development such that you will be able to process and obtain your Certificate of Occupancy in 72 hours.

“Importantly, we have proposed an ambitious, but very realisable N521.5bn 2024 budget where we earmarked N414.3bn or 79 per cent of the budget for Capital Expenditure and N107.2bn, which is 21 per cent of the budget as Recurrent Expenditure. We equally set aside a record N134.9bn or 33 per cent of the budget to revamp education. We voted N207.8bn for the Economic Sector, N182.9 billion for the Social Sector, N82.5 billion for infrastructure, N28.9 billion for water, N25.1 billion for agriculture, and N21.7 billion for health, while also paying special attention to security and job creation.

“Instructively, borrowing constitutes an infinitesimal 12 per cent of our funding, while we will rally over N300bn domestically as IGR to fund the budget.

“In essence, Enugu State, under our watch, is set for disruptive economic growth and 2024 is our year of turnaround, as we work towards creating a $30bn economy in the next four to eight years.”

He, however, assured that his administration would continue to prioritise the welfare of citizens.

“We will sustain our deliberate steps in forms of palliatives, wage awards, planned subsidised mass-transit buses, among others, to alleviate the immediate economic hardships faced by our people. So, we urge Ndi Enugu to keep the faith even as we count on their support and prayers,” he added.

Mbah, therefore, wishes the people of Enugu State and Nigeria a happy New Year and hitch-free celebration.

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, on Saturday, paid a Christmas homage to President Bola Tinubu at the latter’s Bourdillon residence in Ikoyi, Lagos, where he also reiterated support for Federal Government’s economic policies.

Governor Mbah also assured that his administration would deliver on the over N300bn Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) target in the 2024 Appropriation Law of the State, which he signed on Wednesday.

Speaking to newsmen after meeting with the President, Mbah said: “Essentially, I came to convey warm greetings and season’s best wishes on behalf of the government and the good people of the Enugu State to Mr. President.

“I also seized the opportunity to discuss, once again, with Mr. President the impact of some of the policies he has initiated on some of the things we are doing in Enugu State, particularly as it relates to the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). You know that foreign exchange (FX) unification and the removal of the fuel subsidiary have essentially meant that a number of FDI are flowing towards our direction in Enugu State”.

On the state’s N521.5bn 2024 budget, Mbah said: “We are poised to harness the resources. Enugu has played consequential roles in the economic development of Nigeria. So, what we are simply doing is bringing her back to that preeminent position, making sure that we harness all the resources we have within Enugu and to make sure we also mobilise our domestic revenue.

“So, yes, we have proposed an ambitious budget and made ambitious revenue projections. But we are convinced that we are going to realise those revenues.”

Mbah stressed the commitment of his administration to expanding the infrastructural base of the state, quality service delivery, and migration of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to digital platforms for that purpose.

“I am sure you are aware that we have fulfilled what we promised the people in 180 days, which was to provide water to the people in all the homes in the urban areas. And for those who still don’t have, we are expanding the pipeline network to reach them.

“We are building 260 Smart Schools across all the wards in the state. We’re building 260 Primary Healthcare Centres Type-2 across all the 260 wards.

“We are migrating our manual ways of doing things in our various institutions and our various MDAs to a digital platform so we can offer an efficient service to the people of the state,” he concluded.

…insists all ongoing promotional, charity draw games must obtain clearance to escape sanction

The Enugu State Government has disclosed that agencies, companies, corporate bodies, including their agents that are engaging in promotional and charity games without the prior clearance and other permits from the government risk being sanctioned according to the existing state laws regulating promotion and other draw games.

This was as the government insisted that all those bodies and agencies already conducting promotional games and other related activities in the state must visit the designated office in charge of gaming and lotto activities for clearance and permits to avoid the impending consequences from the government.

In a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of Enugu State Gaming and lotto Commission, Prince Arinze Arum, weekend, the Commission observed with displeasure the illegal activities of different companies, agencies and organisations across the state, stressing that enumeration of those engaging in the act had been made and could face appropriate sanctions from the state in line with the provisions of the law if they refuse to visit for clearance.

He further called on promoters to always act in accordance with the state laws and the ethics of their profession, saying the government would continue to partner with all relevant agencies and companies for the development of the state.

The statement reads in part: “The Enugu State Gaming and Lotto Commission has noted with displeasure the rate at which some companies and corporate bodies conduct promotional/charity draw games in the state without the necessary clearance and permission from the Commission.

“The Commission, therefore, wishes to notify the general public that henceforth, any company, representative of corporate bodies or their agents who intends to hold any form of promotional/charity draw games must first obtain a promotional permit from the Commission.

“All ongoing promotional/charity draw games and their promoters are by this notice directed to come to the Commission’s office at number 28 Okpara Avenue, Former CCB Building, First floor Left Wing, to regularize their operations.

“Please note that failure to comply with this directive will attract sanctions”.

Governor Peter Mbah has signed a N521.5bn Enugu State 2024 Budget into Law, saying it would engender disruptive economic growth, radical infrastructural development, and efficient service delivery.

Mbah, who said that the Enugu State 2024 Appropriation Law, consisting N414.3bn Capital Expenditure, representing 79 per cent of the budget, and N107.2 billion, representing 21 per cent of the budget, would rely heavily on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) charged members of the executive arm of government on robust revenue mobilisation and service delivery.

Speaking during the budget signing, which was witnessed by members of the Enugu State House of Assembly, led by the Speaker, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu, as well as Commissioners and other top government functionaries at the Government House, Enugu on Wednesday, Mbah thanked Members of the state legislature for their support across party lines.

He said that the expeditious passage of the budget was a product of executive-legislature collaboration during the making of the budget estimates, and listed the multiple gains expected from the 2024 budget.

“What this budget signing means to the people of Enugu is that we are going to be spending over N400bn on capital projects in the next year. This is the first time in the history of the state that we are spending that size of funds on capital projects because we are spending 20 times more than what has been typically our Capital Expenditure outlay in Enugu State.

“We called this the ‘Budget of Disruptive Economic Growth’ based on the size of our Capital Expenditure. It also means that we are going to have large economic activities in Enugu State. You can imagine an economy that is typically used to doing N20bn Capital Expenditure now going to witness over N400bn Capital Expenditure. It is going to be monumental in the ways our people are lifted out of poverty and in the ways
economic activities will blossom.

“Most important is that it is going to ensure that we address most of the gaps we have in our social services. In the education sector, the signing of this bill into law means that we are now looking forward to 260 smart schools across the state.

“It also means that we are looking forward to 260 Type-2 primary healthcare centres across all our wards in Enugu State. It means that we are going to have radical infrastructural development.

“We are going to build New Enugu City. We are going to have our roads paved. We are going to have feeder roads paved as well as the access roads to our farmlands.

“We talk about scaling up our production in the agriculture sector. Our Special Agro Processing Zones will come to life. The signing into law of this budget today will ensure that we grow our agriculture so that it is not going to be just for food, it is also going to be for export.

“It also means that a new sector will be introduced, the energy and minerals sector, which we hope to use to drive our revenue. It means that our resources in that sector will be harnessed for the benefits of Ndi Enugu”.

On funding of the budget, Governor Mbah said: “We are talking about less than 12 percent of our revenue size that we are going to borrow to execute this budget. That is enormous as we are expecting to mobilize over N300bn from our domestic sources, and that has not happened before.

“What this means is that we are all going to work tirelessly to ensure that these revenues are realised. It also means that for us at the Executive Council, our meetings would largely be on our revenue performance.

The governor further explained that his administration was taking other critical steps, such as the e-governance and automation of government services to ensure efficient service delivery.

“We have gone to an advanced stage on the e-governance initiate. This is going to ensure that our citizens in Enugu are able access government services without the need of actually going to the ministries or to the banks,” he stated.

Governor Mbah, however, appealed to the people of Enugu State to bear with the administration over some inconveniences that the transformation efforts might entail, saying efforts will be made to mitigate the pains occasioned by policies like the expansion of roads.

Recall the Enugu 2024 budget estimates presented by Mbah at the State House of Assembly on December 5, 2023, was passed on December 21, with the Speaker, Hon. Ugwu, assuring a robust oversight function for diligent implementation of the budget.

“Let me take this opportunity to thank our dear governor, Peter Mbah, for giving a lifeline to the economy of this state. On our part, I assure our people that it is not going to be business as usual. We are going to ensure that every fund we have appropriated is put to judicious use,” he said.

The General Manager of Rangers Football Club, Barr. Amobi Ezeaku, has congratulated Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State as christians all over the world celebrate Christmas.

In a goodwill message sent to Pacesetter, Ezeaku rejoiced with the governor over is triumph at the Supreme Court while noting that it was proof that Enugu people ceaselessly offered prayers for the governor in defence of the mandate they gave to him during the March 18 guber election.

The message reads in full:

“It is with great joy and thanksgiving to God Almighty that I on behalf of the Rangers Football Club wish the good people of Enugu State a Merry Christmas and a Resoundingly Prosperous New Year.

“I’m glad to rejoice with our dear Governor, His Excellency, Dr. Peter Mbah and our Deputy Governor, His Excellency, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, for the good govemance our people are enjoying and ensuring security is enthroned in the state through their good works. Our people are particularly glad for the divine gift of Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah to Enugu State with his disruptive innovation and development mantra that will usher in uncommon transformation in addition to the feats already achieved, especially in our club, Rangers Football Club.

“We also rejoice with His Excellency on his resounding victory at the Supreme Court. This is proof that the people didn’t just give you their votes on March 18 but have also given ceaseless prayers.

“This season is, indeed, a special one in our history. While we celebrate the commemoration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are confident that year 2024 will continue to bring good tidings to every household in our state.

“Congratulations”.

Signed:

Barr. Amobi Ezeaku Esq

CEO, Rangers Management Corporation.

Following the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ by Christians around the globe, the Honourable Commissioner For Lands and Survey in Ebonyi State, Dr. Matthew Nwobasi has congratulated the Executive Governor of Ebonyi State, Rt. Hon. Francis Nwifuru and wife, Mrs. Mary Mauldline Nwifuru.

In a message signed by the Commissioner and made available to Pacesetter, Nwobasi described the governor as ‘God given’, highlighting the governor’s dedication to fulfilling the contents of the Peoples Charter of Needs, a policy document of the current administration in Ebonyi message.

Part of the statement reads: “I, Dr. Matthew Nwobasi on behalf of my family, the management and staff of ministry of Lands and Survey wish to heartily felicitate with our God-given Governor, His Excellency Rt. Hon Dr Bldr Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru FNIOB, GGCEHF on the occasion of this year’s Christmas and 2024 New Year Celebrations.

“I also want to felicitate with the wife of the Governor, Her Excellency, Chief Mrs. Mary Mauldline Uzoamaka Nwifuru for your love and care for Ebonyi women, children and the vulnerables in the state through your pet project, BETTER HEALTH FOR EBONYI WOMEN, CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN (BERWO)

“Your Excellency, of a truth, within these six months that you have been on the saddle as Governor of Ebonyi State, you have lived out your administration mantra “The people charter of needs” by touching the lives of the people in many wonderful ways, you have really proved to Ebonyi workers and by extension the entire Ebonians that you are sent by God to wipe their tears and renew their hopes through the many programmes and polices like the #100,000 which you magnanimously paid them as their Christmas bonus within 24 hours of the pronouncement.”

The Commissioner prayed God” to be with you, give you more wisdom and good health to continue to pilot the affairs of Ebonyi State.”

Congratulations your Excellency!

Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Dr. Matthew Nwobasi

Hon. Commissioner for Lands & Survey, Ebonyi State.

…says he would lead by example

The governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has urged Nigerians to live in love, peace, and togetherness in order to advance the country.

This came even as he reaffirmed his dedication to creating a new Enugu State, stressing that his goals included leading an Enugu State where love, peace, and unity are paramount, in addition to eradicating poverty and growing the state’s economy sevenfold to $30 billion.

Mbah made the call in his goodwill message to the people of the State and Nigerians at Christmas, reminding the Christian faithful and the nation that the true meaning of Christmas is love—the reason God sent His only begotten Son to be born as man for the redemption of humankind.

“Love is the reason for Christmas, as we celebrate the height of love wherein God sent His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to be born as man for our salvation.

“Thus, as we commemorate His birth, let us likewise imbibe and exemplify the values of love, peace, harmony, selflessness, and being our brother’s keeper, as Christ had shown us by example.

“We can only create the Enugu State of our dreams and advance the country by sincerely pursuing these virtues”, he stated.

To the people of Enugu, Mbah said: “Rest assured of our commitment to not only grow the state’s economy from the present $4.4 billion to $30 billion, eradicate poverty from our state, and indeed make it the premier destination for business, investment, tourism, and living, but also to be governor for all and lead a state where love, peace, and unity are paramount.

“It is not lost on us that the latter are conditions precedent for achieving the much needed transformation and progress. And on these, we will lead by example.”

He wished the Christian faithful and the nation a merry Christmas.

Signed:
Dan Nwomeh
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Mainstream Media

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has hailed the Supreme Court verdict upholding his election in the March 18, 2023 governorship poll, saying distractions were over, as he vowed to redouble effort in the delivery of his mandate to make Enugu State better.

Mbah, who described the process of the judicial review of his mandate by the Enugu State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court as a huge emotional journey, physical, and spiritual investment for the people of Enugu, thanked them for their support every step of the way, promising not to disappoint them.

He made the statements in Enugu, Friday, while reacting to the apex court verdict in Abuja, which dismissed the appeal of the Labour Party governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, earlier in the day.

The governor, who spoke at the Government House amidst cheers, drumming, and dancing by jubilant Enugu residents, who thronged the seat of power, said it was victory for the people and a nudge to continue the development strides and pursue his vision for a greater Enugu State.

He said: “A few minutes ago, the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, delivered the final judgement on the last tranche of appeals against the mandate you freely gave us on March 18, 2023. We thank God that the learned justices affirmed your sacred will.

“We wish to express our profound gratitude to the learned justices for keeping the wheel of justice rolling. We specifically thank them for upholding your mandate.

“This judicial journey has been a huge emotional, physical and spiritual investment for you, the people of Enugu. First, our case was heard and examined during an exhaustive process at the Enugu State Election Petitions Tribunal and at the end your mandate was upheld. The appellate court seating in Lagos again upheld the previous decision via a unanimous decision. Today the Supreme Court has again upheld this victory for the people of Enugu State.

“Ndi Enugu you are the victors of this judicial journey. I salute your dogged belief in us. Your unalloyed support and prayers at every attempt to subvert your mandate, can never be lost on us. We do not take them for granted. Now that these distractions are over, it is time to redouble our efforts to serve you.

“We will double down on our earlier resolve to serve you with every fibre of our being. The reward of your resolute support will come in our rededication to do things that have to do with the ordinary people of Enugu State. We will give more attention to your welfare, development and good living.

“Let me reaffirm that you haven’t seen anything yet. We are by this judgement recommitting ourselves to the sacred pact between us. The social contract which we both signed on May 29, 2023.

“This judicial affirmation is a nudge to continue to provide water in every nook and cranny of Enugu State; to build smart schools in all the wards of our state; to sustain the provision of security; to provide massive infrastructure and roads development; to build a new set of leaders of tomorrow who will face the global challenges headlong.

“Let me use this opportunity to reassure you that all our campaign promises will be fulfilled to the letter. Hold us to account. Hold your pens firmly and tick with us as we drill down into all those electoral promises.”

Mbah, however, urged the people to pray for him and his team.

“As we celebrate this affirmation of your electoral mandate, please continue to spare moments of prayers for us. Beseech God on our behalf for an ultimately greater Enugu State. With your prayers and support we will get to the Promise Land of an Enugu of our dreams”, he concluded.