Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah has taken over from Rt. Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as Governor of Enugu State.
Mbah was sworn in on Monday at the famous Michael Okpara Square, Independence Layout Enugu in a colorful and well attended ceremony.
Mbah who spoke immediately after his inauguration said that the driving force and governance philosophy of his administration would be based on transcendental values, promising to take tough decisions in the interest of Enugu people.
He said: “We will invoke the spirit of enterprise, the creative energy of our people and the remarkable industry on the streets of Enugu State to create the difference in governance.
“We will pursue an economic growth that is unrivalled in this part of the country. We will tap into the limitless resources of the private sector to provide world-class infrastructure and productive sector growth.
“We will retool and re-energize our agriculture/agro-allied sector. We will unlock our rural economy through the implementation of Special Economic Zones and Special Agro-allied Processing Zones.
“The commerce and industry sector will help us to kick-start this drive. We also plan to provide a N100 billion revolving fund for our SMEs in partnership with the Private Sector and other Development Financial Institutions.
Mbah while promising to tackle poverty and hunger in the state said, “We thus cannot be repositories of this great history and yet be laden with poverty and want.
“It will be unacceptable for us to be heritages of those massive resources that are still buried in the bowels of our soil and yet be trapped in underdevelopment. It is a contradiction of immense proportion which we are poised to unravel.
“We cannot afford to de-link from our glorious past. The soil of Enugu boasted of a retinue of great leaders and committed followers. The legendary Dr. Michael Okpara, whose astounding leadership qualities later got celebrated, decades after, in Ivy League universities like Stanford, demonstrated the component of his leadership ability right here on the soil of Enugu.
“The soil of Enugu has always been a fertile ground for the growth of leadership. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Akanu Ibiam, and others who administered Igboland, right from this soil of Enugu, exhibited memorable leadership, aided by the great support offered them by our people.
“They administered a great people who gave their leadership abilities ample and fertile soil to flourish and flower. These are the testaments that point to the fact that greatness runs in our DNA. This is the sort of greatness that the soil of Enugu breeds.
He recalled: “For six months, I traversed the length and breadth of Enugu State visiting the 68 development centres that make up this land of history. During this time, I listened to you, saw your challenges in the midst of considerable resources and felt your pains, but I saw that you remained hopeful of a better tomorrow.
Speaking about the success of his private enterprise Mbah said,“In 2008 when we began operations at Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited, I came into that industry as a backbencher. The DNA of exploits and creativity that is innate in every nwa Enugu was my driving force. It pushed me to go beyond the limits of expectations in the industry.
“A few days ago, I resigned as the CEO of Pinnacle. By the time I was leaving, Pinnacle Oil and Gas had conquered all odds, displacing the incumbent in the petroleum industry within a short time.
“We succeeded in driving the upstart of yesterday into reaching the Pinnacle of the downstream oil sector. The youths of Enugu State will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the tomorrow that is now here today.
“We want to expose our youths to the skills required to grasp the emerging future and create opportunities for the genius in them to flourish.
“We also want to invoke and instill in them the can-do spirit that is innate in the Igbo man. Enugu will rubbish Japa, not by legislation but by creatively addressing the challenges to the future of our youths.
“We will equip our youths with e-commerce, fintech and cyber-security skills, such that they will become globally interconnected, and can indeed ‘Japa’ all over the world by providing services online through their e-commerce skills. They will be champions of the globe without necessarily having to leave Enugu.
“I am standing before you today pregnant with ideas on how to rescue our youths and indeed the whole of Enugu State from the threats against our existence.
“You can trust me. I will be operating from the vantage of transcendental values and not narrow interests. That is what we are driven by. I will not let you down. We believe that the only purpose of leadership is to bring the best out of every one of us. You are why all these are possible.
“As we enter the threshold of history with this signing of a social contract with Ndi Enugu, we are immensely aware that the contract also has the spirits of our ancestors as witnesses.
“They hear us as we proclaim our resolve to transform the lives of our people. God’s supervening eyes are also watching us.
“My prayer is that every citizen of Enugu State will remember today and be glad that we took a bold step forward for the benefit of our children unborn.
“There is no doubting Enugu’s capacity to recreate the iconic wonderment of economic prosperity and phenomenal growth witnessed in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Our will is strong and unshakeable.
“We are also acutely aware that where there is a will, there is always a way. When their forebears conceived the models of Dubai and Singapore some few decades ago, they too began to sow their tomorrow like a tiny seed as we are doing today.
“At that moment, the conceivers of the dreams appeared like some theatre jesters. Today, those countries have become models of the wondrous depth of human capacity.
“Today, we too are announcing the conception of same humongous dream, right here on the soil of Enugu State. All the ingredients needed to actualize this dream are present in us. Today, God is bestowing upon us a leadership that keys into those yearnings and aspirations.”
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