By Alex Enebeli
Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State says his administration has reduced violent crime in Enugu by 80 per cent due to security measures put in place.
The governor stated this while presenting his administration’s scorecards titled “Leadership and Transformation,” at the ongoing the 2025 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual Conference in Enugu on Monday.
He said the reduction was as a result of the administration’s huge investment on security, stressing that none of his visions and targets would have been possible without security.
Mbah said that from the outset, the state government built a tech-driven, intelligence-led security architecture, anchored in our Command and Control Centre.
“With round-the-clock AI surveillance across our neighbourhoods, integrated response units (DRS), and community partnership, Enugu has recorded an over 80% reduction in violent crime.
“This stability is the bedrock upon which investment, jobs, and society can grow,” he said.
Mbah observed that transformational leadership demanded the audacity to envision something beyond low expectations, insisting that such leaders must ground their work in vision, values, and a disruptive strategy.
This, he said, would enable the leader to achieve the desired results.
“Our vision was to grow Enugu’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion, to reduce the poverty headcount to zero, and to make Enugu the preferred destination in Nigeria for business, for tourism, and for living.
‘We imagined a state that, within eight years, would be completely unrecognisable from the one we inherited,” he said.
Mbah, however, explained that such humongous vision and targets could not be wished into existence, hence the state’s huge investments in drastic crime reduction and the building of infrastructure to power business, tourism, and investment.
He added that his administration had to its credit over 2,000 ongoing or completed projects cutting across various sectors – health, roads, transport, agriculture and education, among others.
Mbah said his administration’s consistent allocation of 33 per cent of the state’s annual budget to education was informed by the recognition that the state’s real wealth rested on the quality of its human capital.
“Our greatest asset is in the head, the hand, and the heart of our people; refurbishing classrooms was not enough; we had to completely re-imagine education for the digital age and the future job market.
“Next month we will launch 260 Smart Green Schools – one for every ward in the state.
‘’These are integrated, tech-enabled, future-facing institutions that prepare children not just to learn, but to create, innovate, and compete in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he added.
Earlier, members of NBA commended the governor for what they described as his transformative leadership in the past two years.
Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) said he was familiar with the state over the years and it would be evil for anyone to deny the obvious transformations under Mbah.
“I am not a stranger at all to Enugu State. It will be difficult for me to deny that I have not seen some groundbreaking projects.
‘’To deny your transformative leadership will be sinful, and I do not want to be a sinner,” he said.
Ozekhome wondered how Mbah was able to “do these great things in a highly politicised environment infested by political buccaneers, and in an environment where there is more politicking than governance.”
Another lawyer, Sen. Dino Melaye, commended Mbah for emerging as a pacesetter in good governance in two years.
“I am particularly and personally impressed with the governor of Enugu State because all these things have been done in two years. I only can see that you think out of the box,” he said.
He commended Mbah for putting competence above political considerations in the recruitment of his team.
“Also, I am impressed with your expertise in the recruitment process, in appointing your political appointees. The intellectual sagacity displayed by them is too much.
‘’It gives hope that Nigeria can be fine again. It contributes a lot to the progress you are achieving and have achieved,” Melaye said.
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