Communities in Enugu East demand more infrastructure and express support for Mbah.

Members of the various communities in Enugu East Local Government Area have urged the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 2023 governorship candidate, Dr Peter Mbah , to consider building more infrastructure and maintaining the existing ones in the council area.

This came as they declared their support for his gubernatorial bid, ensuring his victory in the general election.

They set the agenda for Mbah on Friday during town hall meetings at Enugu East Central and Enugu East Development Centres, where individuals and communities discussed their unique needs and expectations with the gubernatorial candidate.

Bemoaning the state of infrastructure in the area, Hon. Obinna Ogbu, a PDP House of Assembly candidate for Enugu East Urban constituency, urged Mbah to build a new bridge connecting the State Housing axis and Thinkers Corner, as well as another bridge connecting Ugbo-Odogwu and Harmony Estate, to relieve traffic congestion in the area.

Hon. Cornelius Nnaji, Member of Parliament for Enugu East/Isi Uzo Federal Constituency, praised Mbah’s initiative, saying he had taken the right step in ensuring that everyone’s voice was heard in the upcoming administration.

He also added: “The PDP has done well for us here, right from Chimaroke’s administration in 1999. Nike has benefited immensely from PDP government in Enugu State. So, we have decided that we are with you and we are going to vote for you”.

However, the lawmaker stated that more needed to be done in terms of road construction and other socioeconomic amenities to encourage more investment.

In support of the foregoing, Senator Gilbert Nnaji, a former senator who represented the people of Enugu East Senatorial Zone, has called for the construction of new hospitals in the communities that comprise the two development centers so that their women and children have access to quality health care.

He also advocated for the provision of water and the construction of an Obinagu-Liberty road to assist traders in transporting their produce to market.

Former PDP governorship aspirant Pastor Beloved Dan-Anike, Prof. Ameachi Ngwu, and Lady Caroline Ogbu, who spoke for the women, lamented in separate speeches that only three of the 24 communities in the council area had access roads.

Concerned about the deplorable state of their health-care facilities, the speakers, while commending Governor Ugwuanyi for his development strides despite a lack of resources since 2015, revealed that Nike had donated about 10 hectares of land to the government for the construction of a special hospital for women and children, and urged Mbah to seize the opportunity the land provided to provide them with a state-of-the-art hospital when elected.

While also appealing to the governorship candidate, Christian Eze, vice chairman of the Abakpa Market Association, Igwe Emmanuel Ugwu of Ibagwa-Nike kingdom, Mrs. Andy Ndife, and other speakers called for the establishment of industries that would empower the youth, reduce unemployment, encourage quality and robust education, and resolve the area’s growing insecurity.

In response to the development centers’ demands, Mbah assured them that all of their concerns and issues were addressed in his manifesto, and that they should consider their work completed.

He reaffirmed his commitment to launching an industrial revolution in the state through a well-planned development plan that would increase the state’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion.

Mbah promised unprecedented development in the state, insisting that his development economic plans were comprehensive and all-inclusive.

“Our plan is to grow this economy in a proportion not witnessed before in the history of the our state. We will launch quantum leap and exponential growth. Over the years , we have been growing incrementally, but we have plan to grow exponentially through disruptive innovation.

“We have several solutions to the challenges facing us. The manifesto presented by us contained our solutions to these challenges,” he said.

Mbah maintained that the construction of 10,000 kilometers of road and the establishment of industries through a private-sector-driven economy would turn the youth into productive and meaningful assets.

While promising that water scarcity in the state would be a thing of the past, the industrialist emphasized that the issues causing low water supply had been identified and would be addressed once he takes office.

He promised that existing cottage hospitals would be upgraded to General Hospitals, with community health workers ensuring that health centers were open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Mbah also promised to end brain drain among the youth population, particularly in the health sector, by providing incentives to discourage migration from the state, and that a N100 billion intervention fund would be made available to farmers, traders, and youth, in addition to vocational skills.

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