Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah yesterday reiterated his call for the release of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu.
He said freeing Kanu “was the right thing to do” and that he had met the President over it.
Mbah spoke during a question-and-answer session after his presentation on “Leadership and transformation” at the Showcase Session of the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference in Enugu.
The governor also shared practical strategies he applies in overcoming barriers and unlocking the state’s opportunities.
Urged by a participant not to give up on his advocacy for Kanu’s release, the governor said, “My first visit to the President was about Nnamdi Kanu.
“I believe that the right thing to do is to release him. Hopefully, that will be done soon.”
Mbah said the sit-at-home observed in the Southeast every Monday over Kanu’s detention was a thing of the past in his state.
His words: “We met a situation where people were compelled to stay at home every Monday.
“Now, people trade in Ogbete and other markets in peace on Mondays.
“Monday sit-at-home has ended in Enugu, as you (lawyers) can see. You can also move around and investigate.”
Kanu is on trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja on terrorism charges, which he denied.
In his presentation, Mbah said transformational leadership demanded the audacity to envision something beyond low expectations.
He said such leaders must ground their work in vision, values, and a disruptive strategy to achieve 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,” the governor said.
He explained that such 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.
“None of our visions and targets would have been possible without security.
“So, from the outset, we 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 per cent reduction in violent crime.
“This stability is the bedrock upon which investment, jobs, and society can grow.”
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.
He 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 now and in the future rested on the quality of its human capital.
“We committed over 33 per cent of our budget to education – a decision some thought was reckless. But we knew it was essential.”
