Tinubu’s Bold Economic Policies Propelling Development In Enugu – Mbah

The governor of Enugu state, Dr Peter Mbah, has said the developmental projects strides recorded by his administration were possible because of the bold economic policies of President Bola Tinubu.

Mbah stated this while addressing newsmen and government officials on an inspection tour of federal government projects organised by Renewed Hope Ambassadors in collaboration with the Presidential Media Team in Enugu.

According to the governor, Tinubu’s policies have freed up resources for sub-nationals, and Enugu, under his leadership, has deployed them into ambitious projects across infrastructure, healthcare, education, agriculture, and other critical sectors.

“I think it would have been impossible to say the least for us to have done things at this scale indeed without some of the bold and courageous policies of Mr President.

“First of all, what the policies of Mr President did for sub-nationals is largely to free up resources, and so I think the President has been very intentional in terms of how this $1 trillion economy is to be achieved he believes strongly that this is not going to come from up, but it’s going to come from the periphery, and in order to achieve that you have to strengthen the full intent of responsibility and also intent of acting, so providing them with the finance.

“I think if you just cast your mind back, even having a conversation with my predecessor, he would tell you what he went through. Sometimes he struggled when he came back from FAAC to pay salaries, or maybe after paying salaries, nothing was left.

“So what we’re seeing today at a scale is only possible because we now have more funds coming from the federation and, of course, a lot of support from the centre to the sub-national, and for us it’s to make good use of that opportunity, that’s essentially all we’re doing.

“So, whether you want to look at things from the removal of the subsidies, the unification of the exchange, the foreign exchange, if you look at the reform in the tax sector, quite a whole lot of great initiatives. So, the impact is invaluable,” he said.

Mbah also stated that his administration had set out to grow the economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion in eight years, eradicate poverty and make Enugu the number one investment destination.

He said that, to create a secure environment for investment and other economic activities and achieve the target, the administration invested heavily in technology by setting up a security command and control centre for effective and efficient surveillance.

The governor said, having come with the mindset to do things differently, the administration has established Green Smart schools and vocational training centres to produce the manpower needed in the present era.

Mbah also said the state is targeting three million visitors – investors to Enugu, saying the federal government’s support for the completion of concessioning of the international wing of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport will make that achievable.

Earlier, the Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, who conducted journalists round the projects executed by the administration, said at the site of the proposed Enugu Smart City that Mbah was committed to decongesting the old city.

Onyia said that, apart from decongesting the pre-colonial city, the project was also designed to create a new, smart city that reflects a global outlook. If you notice, when you come into the road, the very beginning, there’s a bridge there, and that bridge is just at the beginning of the new city.

“So all this drive down here is still the new Enugu city on the left and on the right. So we have also done the legal framework that underpins the creation of a new city, and part of that legal framework set out a governance structure headed by a managing director/ CEO,” he said.

At the Enugu State International Hospital, a 300-bed specialist quaternary facility, the commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu said it was established intentionally by the government to reverse medical tourism and make the state a destination for world-class healthcare

“We see this facility as the hub—the “ocean”—into which all other health facilities in the state flow. These include the Type 2 Primary Health Centres across all wards, the general hospitals, and the two tertiary institutions, including expanded and fully functional teaching hospitals.

“All these facilities are designed to feed into this international hospital, where state-of-the-art medical services and medical education will be provided. Our goal is to position this facility to the level where we can treat even heads of state across Africa.

“We are currently reviewing some of the infrastructure on ground and preparing to begin full operations. In terms of manpower, we are building strategic partnerships to ensure that the best professionals in the world work alongside our local experts to deliver the highest standards of care,” he added.