The governor-elect of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, has promised to end the perennial water scarcity within 180 days after being sworn in as the governor of the state.
Mr. Mbah said this on Thursday during his welcome as the elected governor of the state. The incoming governor posted a video clip of him making the speech on his verified Facebook page.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that Mr. Mbah of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), was declared the winner of the March 18 governorship election in the state on Wednesday night.
He polled a total of 160,895 votes to beat his nearest competitor, the Labor Party (LP) candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, who got 157,552 votes.
In his acceptance speech, a few hours after the declaration, Mr. Mbah said when he was inaugurated, his government will quickly carry out development projects throughout the country including solving the problem of water scarcity.
“When we bring water to all houses in Enugu Metropolis within 180 days of our swearing in, we will bring water, in the shortest possible time, to Nsukka, River Oji, Udi, Awgu and others,” he said.
“We will face an infrastructure deficit in all parts of the country and no one will be left behind,” Mbah said.
Water scarcity in Enugu has been a persistent problem for decades despite huge financial investment in the sector by the state government and international organisations.
Authorities say water shortages are exacerbated by the country’s topography and the presence of coal deposits that have hampered efforts to build boreholes.
Efforts by the Enugu State Water Corporation, a state agency responsible for supplying water from the Oji, Iva, Ninth Mile and Ajali Rivers to households in the state, have not been very successful due to the constant breakdown of equipment.
As a result, residents rely on well water that usually dries up during the dry season. This increases the shortage every year, usually between December and March in the country.
‘Practice an inclusive government’
Mr. Edeoga of LP hails from Enugu East District, specifically Isi-Uzo Council Area which has cultural links to Nsukka in Enugu North District, while Mr. Mbah, the PDP candidate and governor-elect, hails from Nkanu in Enugu East District.
Since the two candidates entered the governorship race in the state, there has been intense verbal exchange between the people of Nkanu and the people of Nsukka, thus creating a political division between them.
But the governor-elect said his administration would run an “inclusive government” without division between communities in the state.
“Let me reiterate that we will not be the government of any part of Enugu State. This is your government, Ndi Enugu. In our administration, there will be no division between Nsukka and Nkanu or any other part of the state. We are all brothers. The people those who tried to drive a wedge between us failed miserably,” he said.
Another plan for Enugu
The governor-elect also talked about some other projects that his administration will be working on.
“As I said during the campaign, the administration we are going to have will make your heart happy. We will remind you on March 18, 2023 with a toothy smile.
“In infrastructure, health, tourism, education and the development of our country in general, we will run a government that you can be proud of. We are in a hurry to dualize the Abakpa, Ugwuogo Nike-Nsukka road, build a monorail from Enugu to Nsukka, Udi, Awgu and build a ring road to connect all the 17 local government areas of Enugu State,” he said.
He said his government would “unleash technological talent in young people, and grow and foster interest in business and job skills.” He also promised to build skill enhancement centers in each of the three senatorial districts in the state.
“We are in a hurry to build a world-class theme park in Enugu. We are in a hurry to create special economic zones in all local government areas, as well as agro-allied processing zones and industrial parks in all our senatorial zones,” Mbah added.
The governor-elect is expected to be sworn in as governor of the state on May 29.
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