The Enugu State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Peter Mbah, has doused pessimism that the state had been landlocked, saying he would make it oil producing state if elected as governor in 2023.
A statement issued on Thursday by his Special Assistant (Media and Communication), Dan Nwomeh, said Mbah made the commitment while addressing a large turnout of party members and supporters in Umulokpa, Headquarters of the Uzo Uwani Local Government Area, during a thank you visit.
Meanwhile, a former governor of Enugu State in the Nigeria’s Third Republic, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, has revealed Mbah as his preferred governorship candidate in the state.
While throwing his weight behind Mbah, and his running mate, Ifeanyi Ossai, Nwodo said his decision was predicated on the track records and antecedents of the duo in the private sector.
The former governor said this at Ogbede, Headquarters of the Igbo Etiti Local Government Area, when Mbah and his entourage paid him a “thank you visit.”
Mbah told his stakeholders in Uzo Uwani Local Government Area thus: “We’ve come to express our profound gratitude and say, ‘thank you.’ We came to tell you that you have not made any mistake for voting for us. You made the right choice and we are grateful. We are, therefore, determined to exploit the assets in Uzo Uwani. I’m aware that Enugu State is not a landlocked state because of the coastal bodies found in Uzo Uwani.
“We are going to utilise it for the people of Uzo Uwani. Enugu State is blessed with huge oil deposit and gas reserve because of Uzo Uwani. Through harnessing these resource endorsements, we are going to make Enugu State an oil-producing state.
“We have inland waterways and we are going to develop our waterway transportation. Uzo Uwani is historical in many ways; both in terms of movement of goods and movement of persons, the local government plays a preeminent role in this country.”
The governorship candidate later in the day paid a similar visit to Igbo Etiti LGA where he also received a rousing reception from a large crowd of PDP members and supporters.
Mbah, in his separate visits to the two LGs, said he visited to express his sincere gratitude to the people for their support to him during the recent PDP governorship primary election in the state.
He assured the cheering crowds that he would reciprocate their gesture with good governance if elected as governor of the state in 2023.
While explaining that his visits had nothing to do with electioneering campaign, he said it was morally and politically right for him and his team to go back to the people who had entrusted their future in his capacity to move the state forward.
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At the Uzo Uwani LG Headquarters, the business mogul reiterated his commitment to harnessing the potentials in the LGA such as agriculture, coastal bodies and mineral deposits to drive development and create jobs for the teeming youths.
According to him, his team had earlier studied the untapped assets in the council area and came up with the design and workable template on how to create an urban centre in the area, adding that he intended to “industrialise the state through leveraging on the abundant resources nature had blessed the state with.”
He described the council area as a dormant and sleeping giant and promised to reinvigorate all the dormant assets to give the local government the best economic outlook through industrialisation.
Earlier on, the council boss, Chukwudi Nnadozie, conveyed the LGs’ appreciation to Mbah and his running mate, Ifeanyi Ossai, for finding time to visit them despite their busy schedules.
He expressed his delight over the decision of the governorship flag bearer to commence his thank you tour with Uzo Uwani local government area.
Nnadozie, who extolled Mbah’s spirit of gratitude and sense of appreciation as uncommon of many politicians, pledged that the local government would continue to commit their time and energy towards the PDP’s victory in the state.
The chairman, Odimma Nsukka, and the PDP’s candidate for Nsukka/Igboeze South, Vita Abba, while speaking during the visit, said the PDP governorship candidate was God-sent to redeem the state through his entrepreneurial wealth of experience.
He further lauded Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his foresight on who would succeed him.
Describing the choice of Mbah and his deputy as innovative, he reiterated the commitment of Odimma Nsukka to work for the victory of the duo.
Other speakers, who pledged maximum support for Mbah and all the PDP candidates, included the member representing the Uzo Uwani Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Josephat Okika; State Commissioner of Agriculture, Matthew Idu; Special Adviser to the Governor, Cornelius Onwubuya; State PDP Women Leader, Vera Ezegwu; Dr. Mike Ajogwu, SAN; Tony Chigbo, among others.
The chairman of the council area, Ikenna Nwodo, stated that the PDP had been winning all elective positions in the council since 1998 and would repeat the same feat for Mbah in 2023.
“The combination of Peter Mbah and Ifeanyi Ossai is of global standard and that is what Enugu State needs at the moment,” he told the cheering gathering.
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