2023: Mbah Vows to Prioritise Reforms, Ensure Autonomy of Judiciary

•Gets endorsement from Enugu elders

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Enugu state governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Peter Mbah, has committed to full autonomy of the state Judiciary as part of his administration’s institutional reforms if elected.

Mbah also pledged to ensure law review, digitalisation of courts and ensure access to justice by the vulnerable members of the society as well as uplifting the correctional facilities to make them fit for purpose.

The PDP gubernatorial candidate spoke yesterday in Enugu at the opening of the 2022 Law Week of the Enugu branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) themed “The Role of Lawyers in Transitional Democracy”.

“I consider myself first and foremost a lawyer. So, after all the elections, after we must have won and done what we promised to do, I will still ultimately and essentially remain a lawyer.

“So, as part of our strategies to actualise our vision for Enugu State, we propose transparent and inclusive governance, which will see us strengthening our institutions and those institutions include the judiciary, the public service, and, of course, the security agencies.

“Under the judiciary, we intend to review our laws so that the laws of Enugu state will be in line with the requirements of modern times. We are going to constitute a high-powered committee that will review our laws to make sure that they are in tune modern realities, dynamics and global standards.

“Strengthening the judiciary also means that we will ensure full financial autonomy for the judiciary in line with the amendments to the 1999 Constitution. So, we will work with the Chief Judge of Enugu State and the Ministry of Finance to put in place mechanisms that will ensure full financial autonomy for the judiciary,” he stated.

Mbah also reiterated his determination to deploy innovation and creative alternative financing models to actualise his economic blueprint for transforming Enugu State from a public sector driven economy to a private sector-driven economy and grow the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the present $4.4 billion to $30 billion in eight years.

Meanwhile, several elder statesmen and power brokers in Enugu state have endorsed the candidature of Mbah as the next governor of the state.

A number of those who spoke in separate interviews stated that Mbah was the right person to lead the state given his experience, his transparency, respect for rules, entrepreneurial spirit and his exploits at Pinnacle Oil, which he heads.

David Ogbodo, a lawyer and elder in the state, said that although past leaders did their best, the aim of the founding fathers of Enugu state had not been achieved because the lofty aspirations of the elders for Enugu hadn’t been fulfilled.

According to him Enugu remains a civil service state which is not acceptable in 2022, stressing that it wasn’t the best for the state which he reasoned had been overtaken by other states in terms of development.

Ogbodo stated that Enugu needs to be transformed from a civil service dependent state to one which operates a mixed economy where the civil service and commercial activities can exist side by side, stressing that government alone cannot absorb the state’s teeming graduates.

He noted that this cannot be done without a thriving small scale business environment, calling for the replica of Alaba market for instance, in the state where massive trade can take place.

He noted that although education is a national issue, states can come in with their own innovation, with the inclusion of vocational training, rather than looking for Togolese for basic artisanal jobs.

“Peter knows what to do and how we feel about the status of Enugu. Our children have been winning laurels , but we need to give our people functional education. The federal government will not stop us from having a comprehensive education,” he said.

He explained that while management courses are good, the state needs to concentrate on technological education, noting that with Mbah, there will be a positive difference

For his part, another elder statesman, Steve Okolo, described Mbah as the ideal leader, stressing that he was convinced that Enugu will be honoured to have him lead the state.

“With someone who has the ability to do what we saw at the Lekki Free Zone, I think it’s a lot less tedious than that job he has done and I want to regard him as the ideal leader,” he stated.

Stressing that he has been in the oil industry for over 50 years, he explained that Enugu state will improve if it can prove that it is an oil producing state, with technical evaluation already conducted in several parts.

According to him, the Enugu of his dream is to see youths and women empowered which he said Mbah can do.

He urged all lovers of Enugu to throw their weight behind the businessman/politician, stressing that he remains the best among all the candidates.

Also speaking, Dr Chilo Offiah, a former Chief Executive Of First Merchant Bank and a member of the National Economic Summit Group (NESG), said he could vouch for Mbah because he’s not a noise maker, but a competent man who rarely blows his trumpet.

He noted that Mbah will make a successful governor being a very educated finance expert, with his exploits at Pinnacle Oil. “I know he’s going to attract a lot of commercial entities to this state,” he said.

He added that Mbah’s job had been cut out for him, with a deficit of infrastructure including roads, water, hotels, environmental sanitation and other public goods which investors will always look forward to. He also urged Mbah to take agriculture and health seriously.

Stressing that he doesn’t envy Mbah because of the enormity of work awaiting him, Offiah stated that the PDP candidate will need to boost revenue generation in the state, pledging the support of the elders.

“We will be prepared to help, standing to support him if he’s prepared to lead and I have seen that individual in Peter Mbah,” he stated. “I have weighed all the candidates and Peter Mbah is my candidate because of his experience, his dignity, his entrepreneurial spirit, he is hardworking and an astute businessman,” he stated.