“In one of the first many memes of his campaign’s vision, before he presented his mission, then PDP gubernatorial candidate stated succinctly, ‘I am ready to work.’ With the election won amidst many opposition dramas promoted by bedroom bloggers and diverse detractors with their devastating demarketing by proxy, the people of Enugu State expected nothing but work, work, work! They expected now-Governor Peter N. Mbah to hit the ground running. Mbah got the memo.”
This was how I introduced a book, “The First 100 Days: Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, Esq., Executive Governor, Enugu State, Nigeria.” I followed his daily activities for 100 days with commentaries. No, it was not published: Life happened!
DAY ONE
“All eyes were glued to the moment Peter Mbah would become ‘His Excellency,’ complete with the national anthem. It came to pass. The long-awaited moment was magical as Hon. Justice Afojulu Raymond Ozoemena administered the oath of allegiance and oath of office at 12:52 p.m. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, Esq. became the fourth governor of the Fourth Republic of Federal Republic of Nigeria and, in 2023, the 23rd head of government in postcolonial Enugu.”
DAY TEN
“Kudos to Enugu Governor Peter Mbah, the 4th in the 4th Republic and, in 2023, the 23rd leader in Enugu since Eyo Ita. He lists among the greats: Azikiwe, Ọkpara/Ibiam, Ọdụmegwu-Ojukwu, Nwobodo, Onoh, Ochefu, Nnamani, etc. History will judge his efforts. Life is too short; his time to shine is even shorter. Every second counts.
“On this tenth day of his tenure, a tenth of the 100-day mark, we count cleaning of Coal City, coherent communication, reviving waterworks, and reclaiming Mondays! It is too early to gauge his performances, but the fragrance of fart foretells the freshness of what-follows. Still, dawn does not tell the trade trends. His magnificent manifesto remains a manual for assessment.
“Hopefully, when all the deeds are done and dusted, PNM will leave the Lion Building as a being bigger than an elephant: ‘Anụkaenyí’!”
100 DAYS
“Governor Peter Mbah has achieved. A government is formed. Clean Coal City is completed. Ugwu Onyeama smells fresh. The stall-sealing saga as collateral damage in his daring dismantling of sit-at-home saga is over. Kidnappings and killings keep on keeping, but community policing is coming to the rescue.
“Still, the ship of state sails smoothly. The naval base at Ogurugu, Uzo-Uwani crowns Mbah as ‘Nwachinaemere.‘ With bathymetric studies done, he planned a riverport and a campus of agriculture. Boom, Admiral Ogalla’s elevation popped up. Big ideas are good; bread and butter delivery is better; both are best. With eyes on water @180 days, organized opposition should focus on that ball; mouthing ‘eLuPee’ recessional songs is not politics. Regardless, Enugu State is in good hands.”
At this point, Mbah was still standing on a shaky mandate; the Supreme Court had not delivered the final verdict. Whatever chance Labour Party’s Chijioke Edeoga had in overturning the victory evaporated with his lawyers’ strange strategy. Instead of vigorously challenging the contest as in overvoting, they chose to chase chaffs in “mere allegations” of ineligibility to contest. The NYSC boondoggle was a joke taken too far. Only those who never served doubted Mbah’s claims. It was an internal NYSC snafu. The EFCC brouhaha tarnished Mbah wrongly, and it made no sense in law: Detention is not conviction, and he was never charged.
The Supreme Court affirmation came on Friday, December 22, 2023.
Mbah went ahead with his legacy, statewide SMART schools, which will endure long after he is gone, some unstudied sitings and N5.76 billon Sujimoto scandal notwithstanding. The health centers, the industries, the roads, the buses and bus stops, the city extension, the hotels, international hospital, ICC, the airline, targeted coal power plant, the taxes….
Three years later, the results are obvious.
I noted in an interview with AfiaTV’s Alex Ogbodo that Mbah is set to win a second term. If hands-of-God Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi could beat ruling-party Ayogu Eze (bless his soul), who among the Nkanu wannabes will beat Mbah mid-tenure? Mbah has a lot to show, and the opposition is too weak.
I am a liberal grader, especially for students who show up and do the work. I won’t give a clean A to Mbah’s midterm yet; besides, he has one more year to go. A major minus at this juncture is the unkept water promise. Instead of stating the obvious and showing work in progress, government officials take to petty propaganda with videos of street-level spouts that are now tagged what they are: shallow showiness.
One promised project clouding many great deeds shows that Mbah’s last year of his first term should be devoted to delivering water to all Enugu homes. No more excuses. Everything else is embellishment.
@OkaaMoe
Friday, May 29, 2026
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