Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, on Saturday reiterated his administration’s readiness to generate and distribute electricity across the state.
He spoke during a town hall meeting at the Old Government House, Enugu.
He said, “Electricity is a major infrastructural requirement for private sector to thrive, adding that the state would leverage on the removal of the power generation, transmission and distribution from exclusive list to concurrent list to provide steady power supply to the citizens.”
The governor said the State Electricity Regulatory Commission would soon be in place as part of measures to actualize the goal.
“There shall be no monopoly as people will be allowed to buy and sell electricity.”
Mbah also promised continuous payment of wage awards to state workers until the committee on new minimum wage concludes its work.
He said his government would prioritise workers’ welfare, adding that he would create values that would help workers to thrive.
“Until new minimum wage is concluded, we will continue to pay wage award,” he assured.
The governor, who added that his administration inherited arrears of pension and gratuity of retired civil servants, explained that he did not waste time in clearing them.
“Today we are working seriously to clear that of primary school teachers and Local Government workers.”
On education, Mbah said his administration identified it as the strongest weapon to fight poverty, saying “this is why we are building SMART Schools across 260 wards which will be operational by September, 2025″.
“Our children will now be using tablets to study and teachers smart boards to teach while the student would learn about artificial intelligence, robotics and others that will make them technological inclined,” he added.
The governor said that the government was building type two Primary Health Centres across the 260 wards to reduce infant and maternal mortality in the state.
Mbah said he had already awarded 30 contracts for the health centers and about to award 100 more.
He pledged to design a programme to ensure students palliative and also sustain the state’s Scholarship Board.
Speaking further, Mbah said his administration had not increased the tax rate. Rather, according to him, the government has expanded the tax net with commitment to enforcing the already existing tax laws in the state.
On the challenges of water supply in the state, the governor warned tanker drivers to desist from sabotaging government’s efforts on the water project, vowing that anyone caught will be made to face the full wrath of the law.
He promised that transparency, accountability and accessibility would remain at the core of his administration’s philosophy, to make the state a preferred destination for living, tourism and investment.
The governor said that he had tackled security challenges and made tremendous improvements to make the state safe and secure.
He pointed out that his administration had installed CCTV cameras at strategic areas in Enugu metropolis, and had commenced the construction of military barracks in some flash point areas to checkmate criminality.
He stressed that his administration had declared a state of emergency on infrastructure, particularly water, by upgrading the daily production from 40 million liters to 120 million liters, even as reticulation to homes and neighborhoods were ongoing.
Mbah explained that he was working assiduously to put into function the International Conference Centre, and boost investment in Enugu State by putting into operation the international Wing of the Akanu Ibịam International Airport, Enugu.
He also announced plans to establish a cargo terminal in the airport.