Peter Mbah: I would disrupt the status quo if elected Enugu governor

Peter Mbah, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Enugu, says he would disrupt the status quo if elected in 2023.

Mbah polled 790 votes to defeat other aspirants — Chijioke Edeoga, Chinyeaka Ohaa and Chukwunta Gilbert — in the governorship primary.

Speaking during a chat with journalists on Friday, Mbah said his mission is to deliver quality “people-focused governance” and to make Enugu the preferred destination for investment, business and tourism.

Mbah said he aims to bring down the poverty headcount index in Enugu to zero.

“I envision an Enugu state that is going to be one of the top three states in this country,” he said.

“Our aim is to achieve a zero percent rate in our poverty headcount index. Enugu state has witnessed an appreciable growth on account of prudent and creative management of our resources by the previous and in particular, in the last seven years of this administration.

“We are arguably the safest and most peaceful state in the country. Because there cannot be any sustainable development without peace and the current administration has invested hugely in this.”

Mbah also promised to grow the state’s economy from its current N4bn annually to N30bn.

“Most of what you hear about the south-east, the sort of commotion going on, it’s almost like Enugu is insulated. Those things don’t happen by accident, it is because of a deliberate strategy this current administration has taken,” he said.

“So to sustain these achievements and to build on them require beyond just having a mere appreciation of the status quo. In order for us to be able to compete, and grow our economy to become one of the top three in this country, to move it from N4.4bn annually to N30bn in the next four to eight years, that is not something you can achieve by growing incrementally.

“What we want to do is achieve a quantum leap and that can only happen through disruptive, creative and radical innovation.”

Mbah, who was the commissioner for finance during the administration of Chimaroke Nnamani, won the party’s governorship ticket in a keenly contested primary on May 25.

The governorship candidate said he is humbled by the responses received so far from the aspirants who lost in the poll, adding that he does not envision a succession crisis rocking Enugu PDP.

He said: “I can’t think of any exception, all the people that participated in the primaries — we’ve reached out to each other, they’ve sent their congratulatory messages, they pledged to support and we are intact, the state of our union continues to be strong.”