All Nigeria Editors Confab 2026: We’re building Enugu into South-East economic gateway – Mbah

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By Juliet Umeh

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For many years, Enugu carried the history and prestige of the old Eastern Region, but Governor Peter Mbah believes nostalgia is no longer enough. His ambition is to build a state that does not merely look back at its past importance but becomes a major economic force in modern Nigeria.

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That ambition was at the centre of his message to Nigerian editors gathered in Enugu, where he declared that a transformation was taking place across the state and challenged journalists not to take his word for it, but to go out, see the projects and speak with the people.

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Mbah, who spoke at the All Nigeria Editors Conference, ANEC 2026, said his administration wants to position Enugu as the economic gateway to the South-East, rank it among Nigeria’s top three states by Gross Domestic Product, GDP, and make it a national leader in human development.

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“What is happening here is, I believe, one of the fastest and most ambitious transformations of any state in modern Nigeria. And the ambition reaches beyond Enugu itself,” he told the editors.

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“We want this state to become an economic gateway for the South-East, one of Nigeria’s top three states by GDP, and a national leader in human development.”

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Roads, schools changing communities

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Mbah pointed to infrastructure as one of the most visible signs of the transformation, saying more than 1,500 kilometres of roads had been constructed or reconstructed across the state.

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But beyond roads, he said his government was attempting to take development into communities through massive investments in education, healthcare, water and transportation.

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He cited the delivery of more than 7,000 classrooms and the development of Smart Green Schools across the state’s 260 electoral wards.

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For Mbah, however, the significance of those projects is not merely in the number of buildings constructed but in how they change everyday life.

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“A child walking into a digitally equipped school in a community that has been left behind. Healthcare closer to home. A journey to market that will no longer take half the day,” he said, painting a picture of what the investments should mean for ordinary residents.

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Water supply, which had remained a major challenge in Enugu metropolis for years, also featured prominently in the governor’s account.

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He said water was returning “at scale” to Enugu city, alongside new transport terminals and Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, buses designed to improve movement within the state.

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Enugu takes to the skies

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Mbah also pointed to Enugu Air as another part of his administration’s attempt to reposition the state.

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With the state-backed airline taking to the skies, alongside other investments in transport and urban development, the governor said businesses were beginning to see Enugu differently – as a place where they could invest, build and grow.

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He also drew attention to the emerging Enugu Smart City, inviting the editors to visit the development and judge its progress themselves.

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“Enugu has become a state people are talking about, far beyond our borders. While you are here, I invite you to experience it for yourselves,” he said.

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Tinubu partnership helping Enugu

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Interestingly, Mbah did not claim that the transformation was being achieved by the state government alone.

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He acknowledged what he described as a strong partnership with President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government, saying increased federal support to states had provided additional fiscal space for investment.

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He also cited federal interventions in roads, aviation, energy and regional development.

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According to him, the concessioning of Akanu Ibiam International Airport could further strengthen Enugu’s position as a gateway to the wider South-East.

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Mbah said: “I have acknowledged that partnership publicly before, and I gladly do so again. The partnership is helping us build at a scale and pace that would once have seemed impossible.”

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‘Come and see for yourselves’

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Yet perhaps the most striking part of Mbah’s presentation was his invitation to the editors to test his claims themselves.

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There was still much to be done, he admitted, and his administration was making no claim that every problem had been solved.

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Instead, he urged the visiting journalists to leave the conference halls, explore Enugu city, travel further into the state and speak directly with residents.

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“Take some time to explore the city. Speak to the people who live and work here and get a sense of the direction in which Enugu is moving,” he said.

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It was effectively an invitation to put his administration’s record under the microscope.

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For Mbah, the Enugu he wants Nigerians to see is no longer simply the historic Coal City, but an emerging economic and investment destination seeking a bigger role in the South-East and Nigeria.

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And his message to the editors was straightforward: come, look around and judge the transformation for yourselves.

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