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Rising from Enugu Exco Retreat, Mbah sets performance benchmark for appointees

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Participants at the just-concluded Enugu Executive Council Retreat
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…says $30bn GDP achievable

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, Sunday, told all political appointees that they would be assessed by the performance benchmarks set for all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), saying the administration was in a hurry to deliver on its campaign promises.

Mbah stated this in his closing remarks at a three-day Executive Leadership Retreat held for senior political appointees at the Nike Lake Resort in Enugu from Friday to Sunday.

Speaking at the retreat themed “Strategic Leadership for Disruptive Innovation and Sustainable Development” which brought together leadership, development, financial, climate, public sector, strategy and innovation experts such as Prof. Joseph Urama of the African Development Bank, Dr. Ibukun Awosika, Linus Okorie, Dr. Joe Abah, Dr. Sam Onyia, and Prof. Chukwumerije Okereke, the governor said that raising the state’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion was doable if the political appointees applied the knowledge garnered at the retreat to disrupt the status quo which was no longer acceptable.

“I think that everything we have expressed here in terms of our vision is possible. Development history is replete with countries, sub-nationals, and cities where the people have come together and agreed that they would change the narrative, the pattern of growth, and they committed themselves to it, and it happened.

“So, nobody should tell you that what we want to do in Enugu is impossible. With our can-do spirit, we can achieve a $30 billion economy in the next eight years. We can achieve a great city. We can achieve access to the best quality education that any child can have access to in the world. We can also have access to high-quality healthcare service in this state. We can build 10,000 kilometres of road. We can restore water to Enugu in the next two months as promised our people and also make access to clean water happen for our people across the state in no distant time. We can also achieve zero poverty headcount and eradicate poverty from our state and deliver on every promise we made.

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“Indeed we can make Enugu the premier destination for business, investment, tourism, and living.

“We are already thinking about the future that we want to bequeath to our children, and history beckons on all of us to do something. If we believe in it, if we have the can-do spirit, then we can make it happen”, the governor said.

Throwing more light on the retreat, the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said the retreat was put together to digest Governor Peter Mbah’s vision and map out strategies for achieving it across the MDAs.

“We designed it around three key areas. We designed it around leadership, looking at ethical leadership, transformational leadership, and other aspects of leadership. We thought about the strategy that we were going to adopt and planned out our delivery approach. The third one was performance. We looked at it around how to measure what we have agreed success will mean to us as a team. So we have set out a course of action”, he stated.

Other participants, such as the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Barr. Victor Udeh; Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Barr. Lloyd Ekweremadu; Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dame Ugochi Madueke; Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Nathaniel Uramah; Commissioner Children, Gender Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs. Ngozi Enih; Executive Chairman, Enugu State Tourism Board, Rita Mbah; and the Chairman, Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB), Dr. GOC Ajah, among others, described the retreat as eye-opening, strategic and enriching.

“If we had any iota of doubts in our minds as to the achievability of the lofty vision of the governor, the doubts have petered away. We now feel empowered, more knowledgeable, and charged to go and deliver; and that is exactly what we are going back to our MDAs to do”, Mrs. Enih stated.

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Enugu Lawyer rejects paternity claim after DNA Test results

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A legal practitioner, Barrister Chinedu Ifeanyi Iloeje, has publicly declared that a man previously believed to be his son is not biologically related to him, following the outcome of a DNA test.

In a public notice published in a newspaper, Iloeje stated that he was allegedly misled by the man’s mother into believing that the individual, identified as Chinedu Francis Iloeje, was his biological son.

According to the notice, DNA testing conducted on the matter established “beyond any doubt” that the man is not his son.

The lawyer further clarified that he never legally adopted the individual, despite the latter bearing the name Chinedu Francis Iloeje.

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Barrister Iloeje explained that the man’s original name is Chinedu Francis Onwualu and stressed that he has no legal or biological relationship with him.

The notice also informed members of the public, the Greater Iloeje Family, the Umuodu Village Union, Uwani Amokwe Town Union, St. Theresa’s Catholic Church Amokwe, Udi Local Government Council, and other stakeholders of his declaration.

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He stated that the disclaimer was made in good faith and while of sound mind, urging the public to take note of the clarification.

The publication has sparked discussions on paternity disputes and the increasing reliance on DNA testing to resolve questions of biological parentage.

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Obi donates N10 million to burnt hospital in Enugu

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Mr Peter Obi presenting a cheque of 10 Million Naira to assist in the renovation of the burnt Mother of Christ Specialist Hospital, Enugu State.
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Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the forthcoming 2027 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, has donated N10 million to assist in the renovation of the burnt Mother of Christ Specialist Hospital, Enugu State.

The former Anambra State governor handed over the cheque for the donation to the hospital management team when he visited the hospital yesterday.

The hospital belongs to the Reverend Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of the Catholic Church.

Mr Peter Obi inspecting the burnt hospital

Addressing the hospital management team after inspecting parts of the burnt hospital, the NDC presidential candidate commended them for their efforts in contributing to healthcare delivery services.

Telling them that even though they might feel that they were not being appreciated for what they were doing, Obi, however, described healthcare delivery services and education as among the “most critical needs of society” and urged them not to relent in what they were doing.

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Accompanied during the visit by his Chief of Staff, Commissioner for Housing, as well as Special Adviser on Media when he was Anambra State governor, Prof. Stella Okunna, Prof. Patrick Obi, and Dr. Valentine Obienyem respectively, Obi assured the hospital management team that he would continue to support them.

Part of the hospital gutted by the inferno and inspected by Obi was the Children’s Ward.

Expressing gratitude on behalf of the hospital management, the Chief Medical Director of Immaculate Heart Hospital, Nkpor, Anambra State, Rev. Sister Dr. Maria Nkiruka Okafor, eulogised Obi for his sacrifices and selfless contributions to humanity.

Disclosing that Obi had already credited the hospital’s accountant with the N10 million donation and that he was even the person who called her to inform her that he had received the sad news of the inferno and promised to donate towards the renovation, Rev. Sister Okafor described him as a rare politician.

She prayed that God would grant him his ambition to become President of the country and enable him to achieve his desire to transform it.

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FG, Enugu State target direct China-Enugu Cargo flights by December – Keyamo

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Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo
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The Federal Government and Enugu State Government are in talks to ensure the commencement of direct cargo flight operations between Enugu and Guangzhou, China, before the end of the year.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Barr Festus Keyamo, disclosed this in Lagos during the launch of the United Air’s newly acquired airplanes on Thursday.

The Minister added said the FG had affected a structural management overhaul at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, also bringing the airport under a privately run operational framework.

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“One of our prides in the South is the Enugu International Airport. The Enugu governor approached Mr. President, noting that the airport was not maximising its economic potential under standard bureaucratic structures, and requested to bring in private investors to run it. Mr. President gave the green light.

“As I speak with you, Enugu is now fully privately owned and fully supported by state government, with the clear objective of also turning it into a dedicated cargo hub for the entire Southeast.”

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To this effect, therefore, Keyamo said that a high-level bilateral trade negotiations were ongoing with a view to securing direct logistics flights between China and the Southeast by the end of 2026.

“Just two days ago, the Enugu governor and I were actively negotiating the first direct cargo flight from Guangzhou, China, straight into Enugu.

“We are targeting December for the maiden flight. This will allow our Southeast merchants and traders in China to consolidate their goods into unified cargo accounts twice a week, flying straight into Enugu for seamless delivery to hubs like Onitsha and Aba,” he concluded.

It is recalled that Governor Mbah had in July 2025 launched Enugu Air, a state-owned airline, as part of the administration’s integrated blueprint for a modern, multimodal transport ecosystem and the vision to make Enugu a major aviation and logistics hub.

Since then, Enugu Air has grown its fleet from three at inception to six planes with plans to further increase it as it prepares to commence operations to regional destinations like Accra, Libreville, Abidjan in next few months and long haul flight operations to various destinations around the world by the end of the year.

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