ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Enugu State Governor-elect, Peter Mbah has promised to run an all-inclusive government devoid of any sectional interest.
Mbah gave the assurance in his acceptance speech ion Thursday, adding that he was in a hurry to develop the State.
The Governor-elect also promised to make water run in every home within the metropolis within 180 days in office, adding that he was in a hurry to dualize the Abakpa, Ugwuogo Nike-Nsukka road.
Mbah was declared winner of the Saturday’s election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Wednesday night.
Voiceofnaija.ng had reported that Mbah polled 160,895 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Chijioke Edeoga of the Labour Party (LP), who scored 157,552 votes.
His acceptance speech partly reads: “I accept this announcement with a glad, solemn and grateful heart and with only one obligation: to devote every tissue of my flesh, the totality of my mind and spirit to the task of the greatness of Enugu State.
“Let me restate that ours will not be a government of any section of Enugu State. It is your government, Ndi Enugu. Under our administration, there can never be division between Nsukka and Nkanu or any other section of the state. We are all brothers and sisters. Those who attempted to create a wedge between us failed woefully. We were massively voted by every section of the state.”
The Governor-elect who admitted that the road through the electioneering process was rough, said it was obvious that they were not alone on the rough road.
“At every intersection of the rough road, Ndi Enugu were with us. Collectively, we trudged along with bravery and strength of character. Your presence shielded us from rough tackles that were aimed at our spine.
“It is why you, Ndi Enugu, are the hero of this victory. You sowed your sweats and prolonged discomfort that earned us this victory. In the hot and torrid sun, you were with us; when the rain – literally and metaphorically – drenched us, you stood by us, offering your clothes to damp our wet apparels. And when it was time to stand and be counted with your votes, Ndi Enugu, you did not let us down,” he said.
He further promised Ndi Enugu of good governance, saying: “Let me pledge to you, once again, that I will serve you and dedicate every of the 1,460 days that make up this initial tenure of office to serving you.
“I will remember the coarse road you travailed to get us here. In reply, we will speak resoundingly with policies of government that will give you comfort and rest of mind.
“As I told you during the campaign, the administration we will run will bring joy to your hearts. We will make you remember March 18, 2023 with a toothy smile. In infrastructure, health, tourism, education and development of our state in general, we will run a government that you can be proud of.
“We are in a hurry to dualize the Abakpa, Ugwuogo Nike-Nsukka road, build a monorail from Enugu to Nsukka, Udi, Awgu and construct a ring road to connect all the 17 local government areas of Enugu State.
“We are in a hurry to build a world class Theme Park in Enugu. We are in a hurry to establish Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in all the local government areas, as well as Agro-Allied Processing Zones and Industrial Parks in all our senatorial zones.
“We are in a hurry to unleash the tech talents in our young people, and grow and nurture their interest in business and vocations skills. We shall build a School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), an Innovation Incubation Centre, as well as a Skill Enhancement Centre in each of the three senatorial zones.”
He continued: “Ours shall not be an administration by a section of the state. We shall run an all-inclusive government designed to provide an inclusive economic development for our dear state.
“As we bring water to all homes in Enugu metropolis in 180 days of our being sworn in, we shall bring water, in the shortest possible time, to Nsukka, Oji River, Udi, Awgu and others too. We shall frontally confront the infrastructural deficits in all parts of the state and no one will be left behind.”
Mr. Mbah called on everyone to join him in this task of chiseling a great tomorrow from the rock of a despondent of the State today.
“In the elections that we ran, we are all winners. No one is a victor, nor is anyone vanquished. The task at hand transcends emotions, politics and other mundane divides,” he added.
He thanked the people of Enugu, especially current Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, among others, for the victory.