News
PETER MBAH: Enugu’s consolation in times of national crisis
By Josh Ejeh
We simply cannot feign ignorance about the multi-faceted crises haunting Nigeria on all fronts. Nigeria is facing economic, development, security, hunger, political and technology crises presently with no probable end in sight. These results are accumulation of poor leadership and bad navigation of the country. Nigerians are dying of hunger brutality and the masses are the worst hit. The middle-class that could have served as a salvaging intervention and exchange point between what the Marxists referred to as bourgeois and proletariat, is almost annihilated from the country’s rung of economic equations.
Only a few hours ago, another disturbing headline hit the pages of the national dailies and social media. It is the inflation headline rate surging at a geometric progression, leaving a bleak trail of more people sinking deeper into the pit of poverty. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, headline inflation rate in January 2024 was 29.9%, and until hours ago, the February inflation rose contrastingly to 31.7%. Simply, inflation is an increase in the prices of goods and services over a period of time. There are variables responsible for this such as weak currency, increase in the price of raw materials, decline in productivity and over-reliance on import with little or no export.
Again, the low-income earners – usually called the masses, are at the receiving end of these hydra-headed challenges. Whether the type of inflation Nigeria is experiencing now is hyper-inflation or galloping inflation as the economists would tag it, one thing is definitely clear: the nation is unwell. There is hunger and poverty in the land. The curve is stretched such that the elasticity of what the people could contain before reacting is already exceeded. For example, Nairametrics indicated that food inflation – common to the human survival regardless of class – is at 37.92% in February. Yet things are rising astronomically.
Notwithstanding the above dark threshold, for the political economist, there is always a link between government’s decisions and the state of the economy, whether in a capitalist, socialist or mixed economic system. This is where policies are driven by decision-makers in government to define the curve of the economy. External factors, such as regulations, intervention, etc, are deliberately crafted for the wellbeing of the people.
During the 2023 campaigns, Dr. Peter Mbah, currently governor of Enugu State, forewarned of the impending economic crisis if no urgent intervention in the likeness of state of emergency was declared on the economy. He spoke about a shift from the incremental governance and fiscal management that had seen the country – federal and state governments – increasing marginally in growth and development through dependency on mono-cultured economy where oil revenue accounts for over 95% of government revenue, 95% of export revenue and 95% of foreign earnings. It is impertinent to underscore the genesis of this trouble. The late author, Chinua Achebe, puts it in his 1983 book, “The Trouble with Nigeria”, is the problem of leadership. Nigeria missed the track of greatness when it abandoned those sectors that once created wealth and defined its then vibrant and robust economy for oil as its mainstay.
Dr. Mbah believes it is only a paradigm shift and radical departure that could salvage the nation and put it back on track. He summarized his governance philosophy in a rather unusual and uncanny mantra of “disruptive innovation”. According to him, things must be done differently to leapfrog development. I have listened to him speak about his mission and vision a couple of times. I have felt the passion exuded by him to eradicate poverty, tackle the challenges of perennial water scarcity, consign underdevelopment to history, train and empower youths, women and the vulnerable, move the state gross domestic product from the $4.4 billion the administration met it to $30 billion through private-sector driven investment enabled by the government in terms of derisking investment flows, automating the public service system for efficiency, assuring a guaranteed security architecture through institutional building and the right environment.
While it was true that while others were still lamenting on the dwindling oil revenues from the centre due to what former Deputy President of the Senate, Prof. Ike Ekweremadu, described as feeding bottle federalism, Dr. Mbah looked inwards, baring his disruptive styles of leadership. In order to ameliorate the economic crunches, he gave priority to the public servants who are basically made up of civil servants from different ministries, agencies and departments. In addition to paying regular salaries, the governor announced the implementation of wage awards, almost the first in the country at the time. This cut across both the state and the local government system. It was a huge relief for the people of the state. It was a form of insulation from the biting inflation and cost of living.
Not done, Mbah vowed never to let the people down at a time he was most needed. He ordered that the pension’s backlogs his administration inherited be cleared. Effect was given to it. This is a form of recapitalization of the economy through increase purchasing power of the people. This was followed by a sequence of heartwarming events hours ago. Jubilation is coming from the camp of primary school teachers, a critical sector which, sadly, had been forgotten for long, as they received their minimum wage for the first time after many years of waiting. This is in addition to their wage award, which the state had been consistent with since last year, 2023.
In video clips circulated by the teachers from different schools, one could see the organic joy increasingly building, daily, from all these abandoned quarters that governor Mbah has courted with his magnanimity. The questions on the lips of these teachers, as they displayed their “intricate pattern” dance steps like the J.P Clark’s “Agbo Dancer”, is “Who else could have done it in this time of hardship?” But Mbah did it with the hope of doing more. Local government pensioners are also captured in that high hopes with their verification.
In a Nigeria of our time where gloom appears to be the rhetoric, Mbah is displaying the traits of a leader who leads other leaders to a new destination where they ought to be. As water was made available within the timeline given, multiple roads construction getting completed, smart schools of global standards springing up, healthcare sector receiving impactful attention, with Enugu adjudged the most peaceful, secured and safest state in Nigeria; what else, like the primary school teachers, are we to demand? All we can set forth to do now is to celebrate the leader, who has shown unusualness in leadership, restraint and moderation in governance, fiscal discipline in revenue generation and respect for the rule of law. Your Excellency, it is with this that I am wishing you a happy birthday and many happy returns. Congratulations.
• Joshua Ejeh, a legal practitioner, writes from Enugu.
News
Court Orders Interior Minister Tunji-Ojo to Respond to Suit Seeking Release of His NYSC Records
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to respond to a suit seeking to compel the release of records of his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
Justice Salim Ibrahim gave the order when the matter came up for hearing.
The Incorporated Trustees of Pathway to Equity and Charity Foundation had filed the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1812/2026.
The group prayed the court to compel the NYSC to disclose documents supporting the minister’s claim that he completed the mandatory one-year national service.
The foundation also sought an order of mandamus directing the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), the 2nd respondent, to produce records showing that the minister did his primary assignment at the FCTA.
When the case was called, counsel to the applicant, Chief Solomon Akuma, SAN, told the court he was ready to proceed with the hearing.
However, Abiola Olaniji, who appeared for the minister, said he had filed an application for Tunji-Ojo to be joined as the 3rd respondent.
Olaniji said the applicant (foundation) had responded with a counter affidavit raising serious issues, to which he needed time to reply.
The lawyer stated that the minister was ready to take part in the proceedings as an interested party.
But Akuma opposed the application, arguing that the minister was not a proper party.
He said the suit only sought an order of mandamus compelling the respondents (NYSC and FCTA) to produce documents that are not in the minister’s custody.
Justice Ibrahim directed the minister to file and serve his reply to the applicant’s counter affidavit, which opposed his application to be joined as a party in the suit before the next hearing date.
The judge then adjourned the matter until Oct. 18 for hearing.
The applicant had sought from the NYSC the mobilisation or call-up letter issued to Tunji-Ojo in 2006 or any other year; the posting letter to the FCTA in 2006 or any other year; and his application for mobilisation.
It also sought the evidence of approval of his remobilisation by the NYSC’s Director-General; evidence of payment of allowances to him; the record of his Community Development Service and his discharge certificate.
The foundation equally sought from the FCTA, the mobilisation or call-up letter, the posting letter, his attendance record during the service year, evidence of any allowance paid to him, among others.
It said the application was brought under Section 14 of the Federal High Court Act, Order 34 Rules 1, 2 and 5 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019.
It also cited Sections 20, 21 and 25 of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011.
(NAN)
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has advised Nigerians residing in the United Kingdom to stop sending money to people who seek financial help at home.
Obi also advised them to urge their relatives to vote for productive leaders.
He made the remarks at a town hall meeting with diaspora supporters in Manchester, United Kingdom, on Sunday.
He stressed that Nigeria’s prevailing economic hardship resulted from bad leadership, arguing that continuous financial assistance only cushions the effects of poor governance without addressing the root causes.
“You have people at home in Nigeria today who are begging you for money. Tell them no!” he said.
The former Anambra State governor insisted that his record in public office distinguished him from other governors, claiming none of them matched his achievements in saving public funds.
“I’m not saying I’m a saint, but I saved money. I’ve not seen one governor who has saved 10 per cent of what I saved. No governor has done it.
“Let’s start with this one that is less corrupt. That’s how other countries change.”
He maintained that his conversations with the people reinforced the need for collective responsibility, stressing that building a new Nigeria would require citizens to take an active role in addressing challenges facing the country.
Obi also urged Nigerians to take the 2027 election seriously, describing the contest as a critical moment for the nation.
Contrary to false and misleading reports on social media that a Federal High Court (FHC) sitting in Abuja had nullified the N150 million fee prescribed by the Enugu State Structures for Signage and Advertisement Agency (ENSSAA) for political campaign billboards, findings have revealed that the court actually ruled in favour of the agency, upholding its powers to prescribe the fee.
According to a certified true copy (CTC) of a judgment of FHC sitting in Enugu, the court had on September 1, 2026, dismissed a suit by opposition parties and figures challenging ENSSAA’s authority to impose a mandatory N150 million fee on each political party seeking to erect campaign billboards or display posters ahead of the 2027 general election.
The judgment rendered by Justice Mabel Segun-Bello held that it was within the legislative competence of the Enugu State House of Assembly to make laws on outdoor advertising and for ENSSAA to exercise powers donated to it by state law.
The suit marked FHC/EN/CS/165/2026 had the Labour Party; Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) in Enugu, Hon. Kingsley Ugwu; Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC); NDC factional state Chairman, Engr. Ibuchukwu Obetta; the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its state Chairman, Hon. Magnus Ezea, as plaintiffs, while ENSSAA; its General Manager, Mr. Francis Aninwike; the Enugu State House of Assembly; Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON); and Nigeria Police Force were the respondents or defendants.
The plaintiffs had in June 2026 approached the court seeking a declaration that, by virtue of Sections 99 (1) and (2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, and Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution, which donated exclusive powers to INEC to regulate electoral campaigns of political parties in Nigeria, it was ultra vires the powers of ENSSAA and its General Manager to make executive decisions and publications imposing a mandatory payment of N150 million by political parties and their candidates in the state as an advertisement permit fee for the placement of billboards for the council election and the 2027 election.
They equally sought a declaration by the court that it was unlawful and ultra vires the legislative powers of the Enugu State House of Assembly to make laws regulating the advertisement of political campaigns in the state.
Consequently, the plaintiffs sought an order of the court setting aside the mandatory N150 million fee, as well as an injunction restraining the agency and its GM, the Enugu State Government, its agents and representatives from enforcing ENSSAA’s executive directive.
They finally sought an order of the court mandating the Nigeria Police Force to protect political parties in Enugu State against possible harassment for the placement of billboards and posters for the council election and the 2027 elections.
However, delivering her judgment in September, after a careful consideration of the totality of the affidavit evidence, the exhibits, and submissions by both parties, the presiding judge, Justice Mabel Segun-Bello, held, among other things, that the National Assembly does not hold exclusive legislative powers over outdoor advertising.
“I accede to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants’ contention that the subject matter of ‘outdoor advertising’ is NOT reserved exclusively to the National Assembly or to ARCON.
“Rather, ‘outdoor advertising’ falls within the purview of the primary functions of the Local Government, which may (where properly delegated) be validly exercised by a State agency such as the 1st Defendant (ENSSAA).
“Third, I am satisfied that on the basis of the evidence before this Court, the 1st Defendant has established it had a validly delegated authority to issue the directive it gave on 9th February, 2026, for the regulation of advertisement of political campaigns,” she stated.
Guided by these foregoing conclusions, Justice Segun-Bello held that “it is not ultra vires the powers of the Enugu State Structures for Signage and Advertisement Agency and its General Manager (1st and 2nd Defendants) to pass executive decisions and publications imposing a mandatory payment of N150 million naira, as advertising permit that will enable the use of billboards in Enugu State.”
Continuing, she said, “It is also hereby declared that it is not ultra vires the legislative powers of the Enugu State House of Assembly (3rd Defendant) to make laws regulating advertisement in Enugu State.
“Consequently, the directive published by the 1st and 2nd Defendants on 9th February, 2026, mandating political parties and their candidates in Enugu State to pay N150,000,000.00 (One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) as a pre-condition for obtaining an advertising permit to place billboards and posters for the 2026 and 2027 general election campaigns, is not an unlawful use of State Apparatus to the disadvantage of political parties, contrary to Section 99(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
“Save as expressly granted above, the remaining reliefs claimed by the Plaintiffs are hereby refused.”
Meanwhile, the Enugu State Government says that unlike the practice in most states, the N150 million fee is for each political party, not for candidates, as misrepresented on social media and by some commentators.
The Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, made the clarification recently while fielding questions from Government House correspondents in Enugu, adding that there was no court judgment on the fee by any FHC in Abuja, as falsely circulated.
In a related development, finding show that the Abia State Structures for Signage and Advertising Agency (ABSSAA) prescribed feea for candidates ranging from N20 million for State House of Assembly candidates to N200 million for presidential candidates.
Imo State fees range from N3.55 million for each House of Representatives candidate to N55 million for each governorship candidate, while the permit fees range from N300,000 for local council candidates to N150 million for presidential candidates.
The campaign permit fee ranges from N100,000 for each councillorship candidate to N50 million for each presidential candidate, while Kwara State fixed its fees at N2 million for each House of Assembly candidate and N100 million for presidential candidates.
The Certified True Copy of the Court Judgement :
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