From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu

President Bola Tinubu has heaped encomiums on the governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah over his development strides, declaring that the governor had done a fantastic job so far.

Tinubu said the election was over and called for collaborations across party lines and tiers of government to build the nation.

The President gave the commendation during a one-day state visit to the South East state where he also commissioned some of the numerous development projects executed by Governor Mbah in the past 19 months.

“He is doing a fantastic job. I am glad that Enugu had a very good day tomorrow, today. I salute Peter Mbah for his commitment to development.

“The election is over and we have to move the nation forward. You have demonstrated that irrevocable commitment towards human development.

“I don’t care which party you come from. You are my friend. You are doing well and very focused. We must build this house called Nigeria to not just satisfy our immediate need, but our tomorrow too. That’s why the removal of the fuel subsidy was necessary. We cannot spend the future generations yet unborn in advance. Don’t bankrupt the nation before they’re born.

“I am very proud of Nigeria. Mbah is proud of Nigeria. He is doing everything possible to provide security, attracting foreign investors, and other investors locally. There’s no better investment than the investment to secure lives. I saw those cars, the Distress Response Squad. It is the way to go.

“Please, continue to cooperate and collaborate with your son, brother and friend here, Mbah, who is really committed to push the development of Enugu State and be a good symbol of south eastern states,” he stated.

Projects commissioned by the president were the 30 completed and equipped Enugu Smart Green Schools out of 260 under construction across the 260 wards in the state, 60 completed and equipped Type 2  Primary Healthcare Centres out of the 260 under construction across the 260 wards in the state, completed multi-auditorium and multi-functional Enugu International Conference Centre,  90 completed urban roads in Enugu City, and a state-of-the-art Command and Control Centre/150 patrol vehicles fitted with AI-embedded surveillance cameras.

Mbah: Our dreams are grand – but by no means grandiose.

Meanwhile, thanking the president for making Enugu his first port of call in 2025, and for all the support and cooperation accorded to his government, Governor Mbah stressed that his government’s huge investment in security, education, health and infrastructure were geared towards the actualisation of his vision to grow the state’s economy exponentially to $30bn, describing it as realisable.

“Our goals include growing Enugu State from the $4.4bn economy that it was on my accession to office, to a $30bn economy in the next four to eight years.

It also includes the ambition to make Enugu State one of Nigeria’s top three states in GDP terms.

“But we recognise that few things stifle dreams such as we have, and drain life out of a city like untamed criminality – or any hint of it.

“That understanding is evident in the substantial investments we have made in strengthening security in Enugu State.

“The framework of our security system was designed to nip crime in the bud, and react swiftly when there is any breach of security.

“However, a sense of security is not simply instilled through the physical presence of arms-bearing personnel. It is rather reinforced by a system that helps guarantee a sense of security even when the threat of crime is remote.

“This is what our AI-enhanced security initiative, which has led to round-the-clock surveillance of our streets and neighbourhoods across the entire state, is helping us to achieve.

“This state-wide CCTV network is operated via this Command and Control Centre commissioned today,” he stated.