Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, has commenced a tour of the state’s 68 Development Centres, commissioning projects and engaging residents as part of his administration’s grassroots development drive.
The governor began the exercise on Friday in Aninri Local Government Area, where he visited Aninri West and Aninri North Development Centres, commissioning educational and healthcare facilities and interacting with residents on government policies, ongoing projects and community needs.
The projects commissioned in Aninri West included the Amorji, Uhueze and Agbada Nenwe campuses of the Smart Green School, as well as the Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centre in Amorji, Nenwe. He also inspected the Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centre at Agbada Nenwe.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ engagement at Nenwe, Mbah said his administration’s inclusive development model was designed to ensure that every electoral ward in the state benefited from government projects and opportunities.
He explained that the tour would enable the government to engage directly with residents across the Development Centres, assess the impact of its projects and receive feedback from communities.
“Our aim is to go to all the Development Centres and have an interactive session with all our stakeholders. We are not coming to our stakeholders and various communities empty-handed. Our model of development in Enugu State is inclusive development,” he said.
Mbah added that the administration was presenting evidence of its performance rather than making promises without corresponding results.
On education, the governor said the Smart Green Schools were established to provide children with quality learning and relevant skills to prepare them for the demands of the global economy.
He stressed that the value of the schools went beyond their physical structures, noting that the quality of teaching and learning was central to the initiative.
According to him, investing in education was essential to achieving sustainable development, reducing poverty and preparing future generations to maintain the state’s infrastructure and drive economic growth.
“If you want development, if you want to end poverty, you must educate your young ones and prepare them for the future,” he said.
On healthcare, Mbah disclosed that his administration had built 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres across the state’s 260 electoral wards, adding that the process of onboarding facilities and commencing full operations was ongoing in some locations.
He said the government had also approved the recruitment of 2,250 healthcare personnel to ensure the centres were adequately staffed.
The governor maintained that the success of the healthcare programme would be measured not merely by the number of buildings constructed, but by improvements in maternal and child health outcomes, including safe deliveries and increased childhood immunisation.
Turning to road infrastructure, Mbah reaffirmed his administration’s target of constructing 10,000 kilometres of roads by 2031.
He acknowledged that the government had so far constructed or reconstructed about 1,521 kilometres, explaining that significant resources had been committed to education and healthcare during his first term.
He, however, assured residents that the administration would intensify road construction, disclosing plans to install additional asphalt plants in Enugu West and Enugu North zones to support the programme.
“We are not yet there. We have only done about 1,521. I acknowledge that we still have a long way to go on that, but rest assured that we will deliver,” he said.
The governor also promised increased support for rural agriculture, saying his administration would promote mechanised farming, establish farm estates and provide equipment to help farmers expand production and add value to their produce.
He said women would be encouraged to form cooperative clusters of between 20 and 25 members to benefit from financial support and equipment for improved productivity.
At the engagement in Oduma, Aninri North Development Centre, Mbah reiterated his commitment to strengthening rural livelihoods through agricultural support and infrastructure development.
He disclosed that the road linking Nomeh to Oduma would be completed before the end of the year, explaining that the rainy season had delayed the asphalt work.
The governor also urged residents to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and support President Bola Tinubu, himself and other All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the 2027 general elections.
He called for door-to-door mobilisation ahead of the elections, which he said were scheduled for January 16 and February 6.
During the visit, Mbah also interacted with pupils of the Smart Green Schools.
The Chairman of Aninri Local Government Area, Hon. Ugochukwu Nwanjoku, who received the governor alongside other stakeholders, commended the administration for extending development projects to communities across the council area.
Nwanjoku said the projects commissioned and inspected during the visit demonstrated the government’s commitment to inclusive development, assuring Mbah of the support of Aninri residents in the 2027 elections.
He pledged to mobilise voters for Mbah, Tinubu and other APC candidates, saying the people would reciprocate the administration’s development efforts with their votes.
The stakeholders’ engagements attracted a large turnout of residents and community representatives from the two Development Centres.