Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah has expressed profound appreciation to the management of LEADERSHIP Group Ltd. for recognising him as the Governor of the Year 2024.
Mbah, who spoke when a delegation from the newspaper, led by its vice chairman, Mike Okpere, paid a courtesy visit to Government House Enugu, described the award as valuable and significant.
The governor thanked the vice chairman and members of his delegation for the visit and declared that he had accepted the award and valued its significance.
He noted that they were driven to deliver good governance by the deep commitment his administration made to the people when he sought their mandate.
The governor restated the commitment of his administration to grow the GDP of the state from $4.4 billion to $30 billion within the next six years. Mbah said his mission is to make Enugu State a destination for investors as well as to eradicate poverty in the state.
He pointed out that his administration’s intention was not to grow the state at the expense of the downtrodden, hence its resolve to run an all-inclusive government.
Mbah explained that with the Smart School initiative, his government had basically changed the curriculum with a view to equipping children with modern skills that will make them solution providers and prepare them to be global leaders in the emerging market.
The governor further explained that smart schools offer 12 years of free and mandatory education, pointing out that the system will also help address the dropout syndrome.
Mbah used the opportunity to disclose that his administration was spending 33 percent of the annual budget on education.
The governor explained further that upon assumption of office, he declared the Monday sit-at-home in the state and in some parts of the Southeast unacceptable and ended it using technology and other measures.
Mbah added that his administration had approved the engagement of many healthcare workers for the primary healthcare centers in the different wards in the state.
Earlier, the vice chairman of LEADERSHIP Group Limited, Mike Okpere, had told the governor that they embarked on the visit to inform him why he was nominated as Governor of the Year and to invite him to the event, which will take place at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.
He told the governor to attend the event to meet his fellow governors from Akwa Ibom, Kano, Osun, and Jigawa States, who had already confirmed their attendance.
He commended the governor for his work in the state and informed him that, before his nomination, the newspaper had sent out people to examine his work.
Explaining further why the governor was nominated, Abraham Nda-Isaiah, the director of LEADERSHIP Group Limited, described Enugu State as the most peaceful state in Nigeria.
He commended the governor for the Command and Control Unit, which monitors movement in various parts of the state.
He stressed that the “Tomorrow Is Here” slogan, which the governor declared at his inauguration in May 2023 at Okpara Square, is manifesting in all spheres of the state.
He commended the governor for allocating 33 percent of the state’s budget to education and for building smart schools and type-two primary healthcare centers in all 260 wards of the state.
Nda-Isaiah described the decision of the governor to revive some moribund projects, including the Popular Hotel Presidential, as iconic.
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