Mbah: Making Enugu New Economic Destination

Enugu State is undergoing a transformation driven by an ambition to create a more connected, secure and prosperous economy. Governor Peter Mbah’s strategy links infrastructure, tourism, education, investment and security to build a state where people can live, work and invest, writes Gideon Arinze

For Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, the transformation underway is about building an ecosystem in which infrastructure, security, tourism, education, healthcare, transport and investment reinforce one another to create a more prosperous state.

That was the message he conveyed during an interactive session with journalists who had spent time touring some of the projects and initiatives of his administration across the state, during the All Nigeria’s Editors’ Conference (ANEC).

 For the governor, the opportunity to host journalists for the second consecutive year was an opportunity for them to see the changes for themselves, ask questions and offer feedback on what they had seen.

At the centre of Enugu’s story is an ambition to grow the Enugu’s economy, reduce poverty and create a state where people can live, work, invest and dream of a future.

Mbah explained that the different projects being undertaken across the state should not be viewed as endpoints in themselves. Rather, they are instruments designed to deliver a broader economic and social transformation. Security, transport, investment and tourism, he said, are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, with each expected to contribute to the larger objective of expanding economic opportunities and improving the quality of life of residents.

The philosophy is particularly evident in the administration’s approach to the challenge of youth migration. During his campaign, Mbah had said he was concerned about the number of young people who left Enugu after their education in search of opportunities elsewhere.

His response was to create an environment in which young people could remain in the state, find employment, create wealth and build fulfilling lives.

“We don’t want our boys only to come back to Enugu when they want to attend funerals or weddings,” he said.

The remark captured a central element of the administration’s development philosophy: creating an Enugu where people do not have to leave before they can find opportunity.

That ambition cuts across the sectors, and tourism provides one of the clearest examples. The administration is positioning tourism as an economic engine capable of attracting visitors, creating jobs and stimulating businesses across the state.

Tourism Development

According to Mbah, the state is developing six major tourism sites, with an ambition to attract three million visitors to Enugu. The thinking is that Enugu’s historical, cultural and natural assets can become economic assets if properly developed and connected to the wider economy. Tourism brings visitors, while visitors create demand for accommodation, transportation, food, entertainment, retail and other services. Those activities, in turn, create opportunities for entrepreneurs and workers. It is the interconnectedness Mbah repeatedly emphasised as he explained why the administration’s various projects should be seen as parts of one larger economic strategy rather than independent initiatives.

The same philosophy is evident in the administration’s investment in transport and aviation. The state’s involvement in aviation is driven by the desire to improve connectivity and make Enugu more accessible to people coming for business, investment, tourism and other purposes.

For the governor, a state may have attractions, businesses and investment opportunities, but the ability of people and goods to move efficiently remains fundamental to unlocking their value. Infrastructure, therefore, becomes more than physical construction; it becomes an enabler of economic activity.

Education and Smart Schools

That thinking extends naturally to education, which Mbah considers another critical foundation of the state’s future. He spoke of the construction of more than 7,000 classrooms, but quickly stressed that the initiative goes beyond putting up buildings.

The schools are being designed around a different conception of what education should mean for children growing up in the 21st century. The governor contrasted the approach with the educational environment familiar to an earlier generation, when chalk-and-board teaching and rote learning were dominant. For today’s children, he argued, education must prepare them for a fundamentally different world.

That explains the emphasis on smart schools, technology, solar power, data and experiential learning. The objective therefore is to change the learning environment and expose children to tools and methods that reflect the demands of the modern economy.

“When these kids begin to learn what we now call experiential learning, you cannot take them back to the old system of learning,” he said. The investment is intended to raise expectations and create a standard that future administrations will have to sustain. Mbah said his administration is carrying much of the heavy capital expenditure, with the expectation that future governments would build on the foundation and focus increasingly on operating costs.

That continuity is important to the governor’s vision because the ambition is for projects to become part of the permanent development infrastructure of the state.

In that sense, the administration is attempting to shift the conversation from what can be completed within a political tenure to what can continue delivering value long after the tenure has ended.

Improved Revenue

Behind the physical transformation is the state’s revenue base. Mbah pointed to the growth in the state’s internally generated revenue as part of the administration’s effort to create a more sustainable financial foundation for its development agenda.

According to him, Enugu ended the previous year with N406 billion in revenue, compared with N25 billion when his administration began in 2023. He also stressed that taxation accounts for less than 13 per cent of the state’s internally generated revenue, arguing that much of the growth was associated with the activation of state-owned businesses and other revenue-generating enterprises.

The administration, he said revived moribund companies and turned them into productive assets. Among those mentioned were United Palms Products Limited, the International Conference Centre, Hotel Presidential, Enugu, among others.

The objective is to create businesses capable of generating revenue and employment while reducing leakages in the state’s financial system.  This approach reflects the broader argument that government-owned assets do not necessarily have to remain dormant or depend entirely on public funding. Properly activated, they can contribute to economic activity, employment and public revenue.

Theemphasis on revenue and economic activity also reinforces the administration’s larger objective of creating the financial capacity to sustain development. After all, infrastructure can only deliver its intended benefits if government possesses the resources to maintain it, while social investments require sustained funding to remain effective. This is why Mbah’s focus on expanding the revenue base is closely linked to the administration’s broader development strategy.

Security is another critical pillar of the transformation agenda because, for a state seeking to attract investment, tourism and human capital, security is fundamental. Investors need confidence, visitors need to feel safe, and residents need assurance that they can conduct their daily activities without fear. Mbah spoke of the state’s efforts to strengthen security and the possibility of developing a common command-and-control centre for the Southeast. The proposed approach would go beyond intelligence gathering to include operational coordination.

The logic is regional. Security challenges do not necessarily stop at state boundaries. Where pressure is reduced in one location, criminal elements can relocate to another. A coordinated regional approach, therefore, could strengthen the ability of states to respond collectively. This thinking also aligns with the broader idea of Southeast integration, which Mbah believes can help the region address common economic and infrastructural challenges more effectively.

The governor welcomed the establishment and operationalisation of the Southeast Development Commission, describing it as an opportunity to revive and coordinate projects of common interest across the region. Among the projects he referenced were efforts around gas infrastructure and the integrated Southeast railway line.

For Enugu, the development of regional infrastructure has implications beyond the state itself. Better rail connectivity, stronger energy infrastructure and coordinated regional planning could deepen economic linkages among the states and improve the movement of people, goods and investment.

Enugu is also seeking to strengthen its position as a regional gateway through the development of its airport. Mbah noted that the international wing of the airport had been concessioned and that the state was working to ensure that the investor operationalises it. Again, the objective goes beyond aviation. A functional international gateway can support tourism, investment, trade and business travel while strengthening Enugu’s position within the Southeast economic landscape.

The state’s relationship with the federal government is another component of the development strategy. Rather than treating state and federal infrastructure as competing initiatives, Enugu is pursuing areas of collaboration. Mbah cited road infrastructure as an example, explaining that on the Enugu-Abakaliki Road, while the federal government was handling the flyover, the state was undertaking the dualisation of a 22-kilometre stretch. He also pointed to federal interventions on other road projects that had previously been difficult to complete.

This picture is one of complementary interventions, with the state taking responsibility in some areas while the federal government supports others. For a state whose economic ambitions depend heavily on connectivity, such cooperation can be consequential. Better roads reduce travel time, improve access to markets and strengthen the movement of people and goods, while improved aviation and regional infrastructure can connect Enugu more effectively to other parts of Nigeria and the wider world.

Mbah’s larger development philosophy is perhaps best understood through his repeated emphasis on interconnection. A new road connects communities to marketså. A tourism project creates demand for transport, hospitality, food, entertainment and other services. A school is an investment in human capital. An airport can become a gateway for tourism, investment and trade. Security is an economic imperative. Revenue generation is about creating the financial capacity to sustain public services and development.

That interconnected approach provides the framework through which the Mbah administration wants its interventions to be understood. The ambition is to use infrastructure to stimulate economic activity, create jobs and improve the circumstances of the people. Mbah appears conscious of that. His emphasis on building foundations that subsequent administrations can sustain suggests an attempt to make continuity part of the development equation.

For Enugu, the opportunity is considerable. The state has historical assets, an entrepreneurial population and a strategic position in the Southeast. The challenge is to translate those advantages into an integrated economic system that creates opportunities at scale. The emerging strategy is to connect the dots between infrastructure and investment, tourism and employment, education and human capital, security and economic activity, aviation and connectivity, state and federal projects, and Enugu and the wider Southeast.

As the governor put it, the projects are not the endpoints. They are the means to an end. And that end is a more prosperous, connected and opportunity-rich Enugu.