President Bola Tinubu has publicly declared Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah a transformative leader whose clarity of vision and commitment to development represent exactly the kind of governance Nigeria needed at every level, while pledging sustained federal support for critical infrastructure projects in the South-East, including the long-delayed Port Harcourt to Enugu railway that the region had awaited for decades.
The president made the declaration at State House in Abuja during an appreciation visit by Mbah and a notably large delegation from Enugu State, an occasion he described as symbolic of the growing confidence in governance across the country and a powerful demonstration of the shared commitment to national development that his administration sought to foster between the federal government and subnational authorities.
Tinubu said the measurable results being recorded in Enugu across security, infrastructure, education, and healthcare were not abstract statistical outcomes but concrete and visible evidence that reform-driven governance, when executed with discipline and seriousness, delivered real and tangible benefits to citizens. He described the governor’s track record as proof that difficult decisions yielded real outcomes and that the country was genuinely moving forward.
“The future of this country rests on people like you with the commitment, great vision, and seriousness that you have embarked upon since you assumed office. You have been a transformative leader, and we genuinely appreciate what is evolving in Enugu today in a manner that we have witnessed the rapid development of the state,” the president said.
On the Port Harcourt to Enugu rail project, which had been abandoned for decades before the current administration approved its reconstruction, Tinubu acknowledged its strategic economic and regional significance and confirmed that steps would be taken to ensure its continuation and completion. He also addressed the broader structural challenge that had historically plagued Nigerian infrastructure delivery, observing that past administrations had consistently attempted to fund long-term capital projects with short-term financial resources, creating a cycle of abandoned and uncompleted works. His administration, he said, was working to adopt more sustainable financing frameworks that would break this pattern and deliver the infrastructure the country needed.
“On the matter you have raised, the rail from Port Harcourt to Enugu, the power sector reforms, the infrastructure that is the backbone of economic development of our country are noted, and we will do more. With people like you, a leader that is so committed and so visionary, Nigeria is on the right trajectory to becoming a very successful, leading African nation,” he said.
He emphasised that achieving lasting national development required genuine alignment and cooperation across all tiers of government, urging continued collaboration between federal, state, and local authorities on the policy and investment decisions that determined the quality of citizens’ lives.
Mbah used the occasion to formally declare political support for the president ahead of the 2027 elections and to catalogue the federal government’s interventions in Enugu State in considerable detail. He cited improvements in road infrastructure connecting communities across the state, the concessioning of Akanu Ibiam International Airport as a catalyst for regional connectivity and economic activity, the establishment of regional development frameworks for the South-East, the planned extension of the gas pipeline to Enugu that would connect the state to the national gas grid and unlock its own gas reserves for power generation, and the approval of the Port Harcourt to Enugu rail reconstruction as collectively defining a new and productive chapter in the relationship between Enugu State and the federal government.
“We have come to state, boldly and without ambiguity, that this relationship has earned our trust and support. On that basis, we will stand proudly with you on election day in January 2027. At our backs are millions of men, women, and children whose lives are shaped, for better or worse, by our governance and by the decisions you make at the centre,” Mbah declared.
He drew particular attention to the South East Development Commission and the South-East Vision 2050 forum as frameworks that, for the first time in decades, provided a coherent and shared platform for coordinated infrastructure and investment planning across state lines in the region at a scale no single state could achieve independently. He described these as turning points that moved the region from a collection of competing state interests toward a unified long-term development plan.
The governor noted, however, that contractors had yet to return to the rail construction site due to funding delays, respectfully drawing the president’s attention to the urgency of resolving the financing gap so that the project’s full economic value could be realised for the region and the country.
