The Enugu State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Dr. Peter Mbah has said that the State has enormous potentials to become one of the topmost destinations in the country for both local and foreign investments if the necessary incentives are created.
Mbah made the observation in Agwu, the headquarters of Agwu Local Government Area during his thank you visit to the council area, Sunday. Expressing his gratitude for the huge support he was given by the people two months ago at the governorship primary of the party in Enugu, when they came out and queued behind his candidacy, Mbah promised to work for the transformation of the state if elected by the people.
Mbah expressed optimism that the choice made by the PDP in his selection as the governorship standard bearer will yield positive results for the State if supported to win the general election.
Mbah, who is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ltd, the market leader in the petroleum downstream sector in the country, assured of his plan to make the state attractive to investors in agriculture, tech-innovation, production, services and mineral extraction by creating a friendly environment that will serve as incentives to investors.
Bemoaning the state of the nation, the renowned entrepreneur said he understood the daunting challenges bedeviling the national economy worsened by debt servicing and oil subsidy burdens. Mbah however assured of his resolve to disrupt the trend through economic diversification and innovation in the system.
“You have elected someone with selfless commitment to harness our available mineral and natural resources. This time requires someone with a good head. We can’t afford to gamble with our tomorrow. We can’t afford to gamble with the future of our children. We must follow someone with the pedigree in private and public sectors. We have done it before with a huge record of success and we can do it over here in Enugu State.
“Your wise decision isn’t a mistake. When we indicated interest to lead this state, we approached the leadership of our great party and marshalled out our plans for the state. We told them we would move the economy from its current GDP of $4 billion to $30 billion.
“We have the clear-cut plan for this. In agriculture, our aim is to move the state away from subsistence farming which is basically from consumption to production in exportable quantities. We are going to establish agro-allied processing zones in strategic areas and this will lead to commercial agriculture. There’s going to be a value chain in the production process and we will build economic logistics along this value chain,” Mbah assured.
On how he intended to drive technological growth, engage the youths and create employment opportunities for them, Mbah restated that these would be anchored on his blueprint for enabling the ease of doing business in the state.
“We will drive a tech revolution. Information and communication technology (ICT) will move the economy $10 billion further in our chart. We are bringing a development plan that will attract companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so forth, and they’ll have offices in Enugu.
“Take for example, the population of Ghana is just the size of the Southeast, but these companies have their presence in their regions. The same thing will apply to Enugu when we come on board.
“We are prepared for the future challenges and what it takes to tackle them. We will formally unveil our core plans whenever the law permits us. Today, as I stated earlier, isn’t for campaign but to say, thank you for your role in the primary election,” Mbah explained.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman of the Local Government Area, Hon. Pedro Nwankwo assured the governorship hopeful of their resolve to continue to support him, adding that their gesture was borne out of their love for his personality.
On her part, Mrs. Jane Chinwendu Eneh who is the member representing Agwu North State Constituency and Chief Whip of the State House of Assembly, informed Mbah and his running mate, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai that they were impatiently waiting for election time to come out in their numbers and deliver their votes to them. Eneh who reminded Mbah of her previous position as Woman Zonal Leader of the PDP vowed to mobilize all Agwu women to give the PDP gubernatorial flagbearer a bloc vote.
Also lending his voice, the State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Engr. Obi Kama stated that Agwu is known for its incredible performances at the polls. He enthused that Agwu gave former governors Chimaroke Nnamani, Sullivan Chime and the present governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi outstanding bloc votes in the past, and are eager to set a new record by giving Mbah all their votes in 2023.
For his counterpart Commissioner for Tourism, Hon. Ugonna Ibe, Mbah’s mandate could be likened to their own mandate, promising not to disappoint him.
The representative of the business community in Agwu LGA and Chief Executive Officer of Fontana Oil Nigeria Limited, Chief Francis Nwobi stated their readiness to partner with the governorship hopeful in the private sector to grow the economy of the state and create jobs. He re-echoed the community’s resolve to rally for Mbah’s victory in the forthcoming governorship poll.
Also speaking at the venue, the Vice Chancellor of Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Prof. Aloysius Okorie declared the resolve of the academic community to canvass support and votes for Mbah’s candidature.
Also on hand to receive the PDP governorship candidate in Agwu were members of the Peter Mbah Support Group, among others.
