2027: Enugu Guber Election will be a Referendum on Development, Performance, and Future Direction of Enugu State – Gov. Mbah’s Performance Reshapes Governance, Sets Agenda for Political Debate Ahead of 2027
By Prince Humphrey Onyima | Enugu, 21st September, 2026
As the countdown to the 2027 general elections begins, Enugu State is heading into a defining political moment. Stakeholders, investors, traditional rulers, market unions and community groups agree on one thing: 2027 will not be about party slogans, but a referendum on development, performance and the future direction of Enugu State.
At the centre of that referendum is Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, whose disruptive governance model has in less than three years transformed Enugu from a civil service town into Nigeria’s fastest-improving subnational economy, with over 1,000 landmark projects running simultaneously.
That is why his town hall meeting is fundamentally different from the opposition’s press conferences.
The Town Hall Model vs The Ranting Shadow Chasing:
Unlike the usual campaign rallies, Governor Mbah’s town hall engagements have become a governance audit – project by project, ward by ward, numbers by numbers. From water to roads, from schools to security, the governor presents verifiable data and takes direct questions from citizens. It is performance reporting, not political chanting.
That model stands in sharp contrast to what is happening in the opposition camps, where civil society groups are now demanding answers to long-standing integrity questions.
THE MBAH DISRUPTION: AVIATION, GAS AND GLOBAL CONNECTIVITY:
- Aviation – From Landlocked to a Connecting City. The World is landing in Enugu.
When Governor Mbah declared that “transportation is the lifeblood of commerce,” he backed it with aircraft.
On July 7, 2025, at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Mbah unveiled Enugu Air – Nigeria’s second state-owned airline after Ibom Air and the first in the South-East. Starting with three Embraer aircraft linking Enugu to Abuja and Lagos on the golden triangle, it was described as “a giant leap” and gold standard for government-private sector partnership.
Since then:
- N41.1 billion allocated in 2025 budget for four additional aircraft • Enugu Air launched as part of a broader state-driven transport strategy to position Enugu as a regional aviation hub • New Embraer 195 delivered, fleet expansion to six • 14 new aircraft announced for 2026, bringing total fleet target to 20
What makes it strategic is what comes next. Governor Mbah has secured federal clearance and concessioning talks for direct international flights from Akanu Ibiam International Airport to Atlanta (USA), Dubai (UAE), Johannesburg, Mumbai and Guangzhou, with Enugu Air to land in Heathrow Airport, London as part of the long-haul plan. The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, who attended the launch, described Enugu International Airport as one of the prides in the South.
With an international cargo terminal and MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility under construction, Enugu’s cashew, palm oil and yam belts now have belly-cargo access to Dubai, London and Atlanta.
- South-East Gas Pipeline – Powering Industrialization
Mbah’s second disruptive bet is energy. For decades Enugu sat on huge gas reserves without pipeline access.
The governor secured approval for extension of the national high-pressure gas pipeline to Enugu to unlock the state’s gas reserves – a project cited by Ohanaeze Ndigbo when endorsing Mbah for second term.
It connects directly to his industrialization agenda:
- Power for the New Enugu Smart City and industrial parks • Feedstock for the revamped Nigergas Company Limited – established in 1962 by Premier Michael Okpara, abandoned for over 30 years, now revamped by Mbah to produce oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide and CNG stations • The revival created direct employment for over 100 skilled and semi-skilled workers and will further create over 5,000 indirect jobs • Fuel for the 4.4MW gas-powered plant at 9th Mile that powers Enugu’s 24/7 water scheme, which raised water production from 2 million to 120 million litres per day
It is how Mbah intends to grow Enugu’s GDP from $4.4bn to $30bn.
CONFERENCE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY – ICC AND PRESIDENTIAL HOTEL:
In furtherance of tourism’s contribution to the economy, Governor Mbah completed the Enugu International Conference Centre (ICC) – a 5,000-capacity facility that hosted 20,000 participants during the 2025 Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference. An ICC 5-Star Hotel is nearing completion to anchor conference tourism.
Equally symbolic is the revival of Hotel Presidential Enugu. Built and inaugurated by Dr. Michael Okpara in 1963 as the premier hospitality hub of Eastern Nigeria, the hotel ran as a prestigious hotel until it became moribund decades after.
On August 21, 2025, Mbah commissioned the fully reconstructed and upgraded edifice, describing it as “a homecoming for history”. After nearly two decades of neglect, it is now fully functioning, boosting hospitality, tourism and investor confidence.
IMPROVED SECURITY ARCHITECTURE:
None of this would be possible without security. From the outset, Mbah built a tech-driven, intelligence-led security architecture anchored on a state-of-the-art Command and Control Centre at Government House.
The centre is equipped with real-time AI-powered surveillance, facial recognition, number plate tracking, centralized coordination, statewide HD CCTV and drones, integrated Distress Response Squad (DRS), and community partnership through the Enugu State Security Trust Fund (ESSTF).
The result: Over 80 percent reduction in violent crime, making Enugu one of Nigeria’s most secure states and a safe, serene capital for conferences, direct international arrivals and night-time economy.
OPPOSITION IN TURMOIL: NDC PRIMARIES AND PDP FACTIONS:
While Mbah builds airports, gas pipelines and hotels, the opposition is battling legitimacy crises.
NDC: The Forum of Aspirants rejected the Enugu primaries, resolving that “no valid primary election was conducted in Enugu State” as neither direct primaries nor consensus according to the guidelines and Electoral Act 2026 were followed. ADC chieftain Kenneth Okonkwo alleged aspirants were “fraudulently extorted” and called NDC “the greatest fraud ever in politics”.
PDP: Split into factions led by Hon. Vitus Okechi and Mr. Steve Oruruo, mirroring the national Wike/Makinde divide. The NWC constituted a caretaker committee under Oruruo, yet parallel primaries produced Samson Nnamani and Uche Nnaji both claiming the governorship ticket, deepening confusion.
CSO URGES PDP GUBER CANDIDATE UCHE NNAJI TO ADDRESS CERTIFICATES FORGERY AND BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS:
In the midst of the PDP confusion, a major integrity cloud hangs over its candidate.
Civil Society Organisations have urged PDP governorship candidate, Chief Uche Nnaji, to publicly address the certificate forgery and bribery allegations leveled against him, rather than shadow-chasing in Enugu.
Nnaji, a former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology who resigned in October 2025 after a certificate scandal, has been listed by INEC as the PDP governorship candidate for the 2027 election despite a pending criminal case over alleged certificate forgery.
According to reports, Nnaji was arrested by the ICPC over allegations of certificate forgery in July and has been under investigation, after Peoples Gazette reported that his NYSC and university certificates were allegedly fake. The ICPC alleged that Nnaji forged academic credentials, including a degree certificate purportedly issued by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
Ahead of the 2027 filing, Nnaji was reported to have dropped his forged NYSC certificate and submitted only WAEC result to INEC for the governorship election, and is currently facing a criminal trial for certificate forgery at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The CSOs insist that Enugu, now a global-facing state with Enugu Air and international investors, cannot afford a candidate who is dodging questions about whether he completed his studies at UNN, as the university reportedly disowned the degree certificate submitted by him. They demand that Nnaji clarify the alleged bribery around his ministerial screening and the forgery trial, in the spirit of transparency that Mbah’s town hall model represents.
CSO ASKS CHINYEAKA OHAA TO ADDRESS ALLEGATION SCANDAL HANGING ON HIS NECK – SEEKS CLARIFICATION ON ALLEGED ₦200 MILLION BUDGET BRIBERY:
Similarly, the Coalition of Civil Society for Good Governance (CCSGG), an umbrella body of over 52 CSOs, has called on NDC governorship candidate, Sir Chinyeaka Ohaa, to address the reported ICPC and EFCC cases hanging on his neck and to clarify the alleged ₦200 million budget bribery scandal during his tenure as FCT Permanent Secretary.
In a statement dated October 20, 2026, titled “ENUGU 2027: CSO Urges NDC Guber Candidate Chinyeaka Ohaa to Address Reported ICPC and EFCC Cases, Clarify Alleged ₦200 Million Budget Bribery Scandals During His Tenure as FCT Permanent Secretary,” the coalition said it was demanding transparency over reported anti-graft matters and seeking clarification on the alleged budget demand.
Ohaa, a retired Federal Permanent Secretary and former Accountant-General of Enugu State, has been listed among Enugu aspirants with conspicuous cases pending either in courts, at the EFCC, tribunals and government gazettes.
The CSOs said that while Governor Mbah is accounting for roads, water, 260 Smart Green Schools, 260 Type-2 PHCs, 1,521km of roads, and the revival of Nigergas and Hotel Presidential, the NDC candidate should account for his own stewardship in public office. They urged Ohaa to explain to Ndi Enugu the true status of the ICPC】/EFCC reports and whether any budget insertion or demand for N200 million occurred under his watch.
According to the coalition, 2027 cannot be won with “guber ranting” while refusing to answer integrity questions. Voters deserve clarification before the ballot, not after.
THE REFERENDUM AHEAD:
With Enugu Air eyeing Heathrow, direct flights cleared to Atlanta, Dubai, Johannesburg, Mumbai and Guangzhou, a gas pipeline coming in 18 months, an ICC hosting 20,000 lawyers, a Presidential Hotel back from the dead, and an 80% crime drop through AI surveillance, the 2027 election has its agenda set.
For Ndi Enugu, the question will be simple: consolidate on a state that is now connected to the world and powering its own industry, or return to the politics of factional or fraudulent party primaries, certificate scandals and abandoned projects.
While Mbah holds town halls to account for performance, the opposition is being called by CSOs to account for certificates and alleged budget bribery. Performance, not promises, is now the ballot.
Prince Humphrey Onyima,
Special Adviser to the Governor of Enugu State on Investment Strategy and Public Relations, Government House Enugu, Nigeria.
21st September, 2026.
