- * Pays Him Thank-You Visit On Saturday In His Home Town, Owo
By Chinelo Ogbodo (Enugu State Correspondent, in Owo)
As the 2027 governorship election hots up in Enugu state, the Ozalla Okpatu Oke town in Nkanu West LGA, comprising the five autonomous communities (Ishi-Ozalla, Umuohanae-Ozalla, Umuokorouba-Ozalla, Etiti-Ozalla and Obeagwu-Ozalla) which were made administrative units in 2002 by ex-governor Chimaroke Nnamani's regime, on Saturday morning, June 13, 2026, unanimously expressed their unflinching support for the re-election of Dr Peter Mbah as governor in the 2027 general election.
The people of Ozalla predicates their endorsement of governor Mbah's return bid to the Lion Building Government House, Enugu on what the leaders of the Nkanuland gateway town described as the governor's impressive developmental efforts in the state since coming to power on Monday, May 29, 2023.
Ozalla town, in the pre-colonial times and prior to 2002, was governed as a single traditional entity with one central monarch, the last of which was late His Royal Highness Igwe Crescent Okafor of Umuokorouba-Ozalla, a hotelier and businessman based in PortHarcourt, Rivers state. But the newly proclaimed urban town by governor Peter Mbah administration, now has each of the five autonomous communities its own traditional potentate known as the 'Igwe'.
The affirmation vote of performance and re-election of the Enugu governor by the people of Ozalla Urban Town was made at the weekend in Owo, Nkanu East LGA, the home town of governor Peter Mbah. The outpouring of gratitude to Mbah by Ndi Ozalla was laced with eulogies from the town's President-General (Ozalla Development Union, ODU), Chief Patrick Obiora Okwuibe and from their eminent sons and daughters, including a traditional ruler from one of the autonomous community.
Among the native rulers of Ozalla town units present during the thank-you visit of solidarity, includes the monarch of Ishi-Ozalla, His Royal Highness Igwe Sylvanus Aniachunam Okeke (Ezi afa ka ego), the Ishi of Ishi-Ozalla Autonomous Community.
The Ozalla delegation that embarked on the appreciation visit was a large throng made up of community group heads, women groups, youth bodies and even the rank and file of the community people who were able to join the party. From the Old Central School ground of Four-Corners Ozalla, the huge delegation of indigenes set out in hired vehicles to Owo to the waiting arms of the Enugu governor who accorded them appreciable reception. The visit was the high point of months of planning by a select committee of the Ozalla Development Union, ODU, for that special purpose, headed by Hon. Dan Nwomeh, a Senior Special Assistant on Mainstream Media to the Enugu governor.
The historic visit was an occasion for political bonding between the governor, his Owo people and the people of Ozalla town, a relationship said to have a historical connect. Some officials of the Enugu state government including close aides of the governor were equally on hand in Owo town to receive the people of Ozalla. Eminent political figures and renowned professionals from the state were also present to felicitate with the governor and accord reception to the visitors. Cultural dance troupes from Ozalla were also on the trip. The town's ancestral and cultural purpose masquerade known as 'Okomu' however exhibited it's known spiritual and guttural theatrics, and titillating dance steps.
Exchange of pleasantries and mission visit over, President General of the Ozalla Development Union (ODU) and leader of the mammoth delegation, Chief Patrick Obiora Okwuibe, hailed governor Peter Mbah for running an administrative leadership which he described as all-inclusive, visionary, interventional and transformational, that have impacted significantly on Ozalla town in particular and the various towns and communities in Enugu state in general.
The avuncular and bearded P-G, Okwuibe, specifically expressed the appreciation and joy of the Ozalla town for considering some sons and daughters of the town for appointments at both state and federal levels. He praised Mbah for ensuring the recent appointment of Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, SAN, his immediate-past Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice as current Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's government.
Okwuibe also appreciates the governor for appointing a young physician from Ishi-Ozalla, one of the autonomous communities of the town, Prof. Uchenna Agu as Chairman of the Enugu State Hospital Management Board, as well as Mr Francis Aninwike as General Manager of the Enugu State Structures for Signage and Advertising Agency (ENSSAA) and Hon. Dan Nwomeh as his Senior Special Assistant (Mainstream Media).
Okwuibe was also full of thanks on behalf of his town to the governor for his apparent executive benevolence to Ozalla especially in the area of needed infrastructural projects, among which are: the ongoing Type II Primary Healthcare Centre, the renovation of the old Ozalla Health Centre, the Ituku–Ishi Ozalla road project and the functional Smart Green School.
But like the legendary Oliver Twist, the amiable Ozalla Town President-General, Patrick Obiora Okwuibe, hungered for more. He reminded governor Mbah that in as much as the Ozalla people were ever solidly behind his administration, the town still has some other critical needs that required the kind intervention of the Enugu state government. Some of these communal necessities have long been ignored by the previous administrations in the state. Among those needs, Okwuibe told the governor, is the
internal roads linking the various autonomous communities in Ozalla Urban town.
The P-G lamented thus: “Although Ozalla may appear adequately served by roads to anyone merely passing through, this impression is misleading. What is visible are largely federal highways that cut across our community. Beyond these major highways, the internal road network linking our autonomous communities, villages, and farmlands remains in a severely dilapidated condition".
One of these internal link roads that currently stood out like rotten sore, is the major entry road into Ishi-Ozalla Autonomous Community, leading from Ozalla Expressway Junction by Chief Mike Onu's Filling Station to the Amigbo- Amaechi Community. That road remains a nightmare to commuter vehicles, Okada and Keke riders and to pedestrians within and outside the Ishi-Ozalla community. Even the alternate entry route to the community through Obodo Nwekeobu axis, Off Ozalla-Udi-Oji-River Highway, is another death trap which poses great security challenge to the people of Ishi-Ozalla. The two access roads to the community are worse, almost unpassable during the current rainfall season. Okwuibe however pleaded with the governor to look into such deplorable hinter roads in the five autonomous units of Ozalla and address them promptly.
On why the governor and his administration, and the APC (All Progressives Congress) led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu need the support of Ozalla people now and in 2027, Chief Okwuibe declared with infectious aplomb that Mbah has shown uncommon capacity for performance and leadership direction in the past three years of his leadership, the very basis for the support and endorsement and how they would demonstrate it further in 2027 re-election bid. “We commit ourselves to full political mobilisation across our community, ensuring massive voter turnout and delivering overwhelming support for your re-election.
“Accordingly, we pledge to support Your Excellency in 2027 and continue to align with the Federal Government in the spirit of cooperation, continuity, and national development. We equally appreciate President Tinubu for approving the appointment of our son into his federal executive cabinet as Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology. We see it as a gesture of inclusion and national recognition by Mr President".
Other prominent indigenes of Ozalla who appreciated governor Peter Mbah include a former Minister of Information and Communications and Special Duties, Youth and Inter-Governmental Affairs and who was Mbah's gubernatorial opponent on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2023 general election, Mr Frank Nweke Jnr. He also holds the traditional title of 'Okeifufe' ll of Ishi-Ozalla.
Nweke Jnr. allayed whatever political concern of the governor about the support of Ndi Ozalla, assuring Mbah that his town's support was anchored on their strong conviction that he (Mbah) has so far performed in office creditably. He pointed out Mbah's exceptional capacity for initiating implementable projects rooted in grand vision, which, according to him, have enabled the governor to earn the voters confidence and trust, and also federal acceptance. He urged the Enugu governor to continue in his track record of performance as the electorates are noting very carefully.
While thanking Mbah for facilitating the appointment of Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh (SAN) as Minister and describing the gesture as a rare honour to Ozalla, he once again, reminded the governor that the gateway town still needs infrastructural attention in addition to the projects he had undertaken for Ozalla. Nweke Jnr., however, assured the governor that his challengers in the 2027 poll would be expending needless energy and resources as his performance has indeed foreclosed whatever vacancy that might exist in the 'Lion Building' Government House Enugu in 2027. By implication, too, Nweke Jnr. had tacitly assured Mbah that his own political gubernatorial project is presently in abeyance.
He declared amidst thunderous ovation from his fellow Ozalla delegation: “Come 2027, you have our full support. Yes, there could be a few skirmishes here and there, but they are like flies and nothing serious. They do not constitute any threat".
Other speakers including the media aide to governor Mbah, Hon. Dan Nwomeh who sported an APC branded white T-shirt and a fez cap to match, further thanked the governor for the projects he had so far executed in Ozalla town. These projects include the Ozalla Smart Green School, the renovation of the community’s oldest healthcare facility, which is said to currently operate on 24-hour solar-powered energy.
An elated governor Mbah while responding, thanked the community for investing their trust and confidence in his administration and by also endorsing him for re-election. He stated that the focal point of his administration is equity and inclusivity of parts of the state in development projects.
The governor reasoned that: “If Ozalla is strong, Enugu is strong; if Enugu is strong, the region is strong, and if the region is strong, the country is strong". He gave indication that from 2027, if re-elected, as he strongly believes he would, the development trust of his administration will be directed towards aggressive rural road infrastructure project in all hinter communities in the state. He said his current tenure focused majorly on investments in education and healthcare.
His current plans, Mbah emphasized, is to construct about 1,250 kilometres of roads annually. He noted that this target is achievable as resources would now be freed up following the completion of substantial investments committed to the Smart Green Schools programme. He assured that his administration would also pave the internal roads in Ozalla.
Those who were in the Ozalla thank-you delegation include: Nigeria's Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, SAN; former Minister of Information and National Orientation, Chief Frank Nweke Jnr.; the traditional ruler of Ishi-Ozalla Autonomous Community, HRH Igwe Sylvanus Aniachunam Okeke; Chairman of Enugu State Health Management Board, Prof. Uchenna Agu; former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prince Barr Victor Chukwuani; Deputy Corps Marshal (rtd) Prince Barr Chidiebere Nkwonta; Hon. Francis Aninwike and the Secretary of Ishi-Ozalla Royal Council, Chief Engr. Innocent Nwoha Obodo.
Others are: the Ozalla Ward Councillor, Rt. Hon. Chukwuma Ani; the Presidents General of the five (5) Autonomous Communities in Ozalla, namely Chief Chinedu Orji (Ishi-Ozalla); Chief Chikezie Nnamani (Etiti-Ozalla); Chief Afam Nweke (Obeagwu-Ozalla); Hon. Chinonso Udeh (Okorouba-Ozalla), and Chief Chidozie Nweke (Umuanee-Ozalla).
In the delegation also, were: Prof Austine Nwagbara, Barr Nworah Nwatu, Prince Barr Umeadi Nkwonta, Barr Andrew Nwani, Navy Commander JOJ Nweke (rtd), Prince Engr George Chukwuani, Dr. Chidozie Onovo, Dr Justina Okoli, Dr Cyril Aninwike, Chief Ikem Okoye, Chief Okwudiri Chianeke, Chief Stanley Ugwu, Chief Sunday Okoli, Chief CNN Nwagbara, Chief Ikenna Okafor, Chief SNC Nwagu, Mrs. Uche Okezie-Nweke, and Chief Donatus Nwachukwu.
Others were: Pastor Kenneth Ani; Dr. Louis Kamanu; Chief Nnaemeka Nweke; Comrade Tony Oha; Hon. Chijioke Nwagbara; Dr. Okoye Gabriel Nwobodo; Barr. Anthony Nwafor; Chief Dubem Ani; APC Local Government Executives: Chief Eddy-Martins Nwani and Hon. Mrs. Ngozi Achara, APC Chairman, Hon. Ifeanyi Nwobodo, Deputy Chairman, Hon. Barr. Chinasa Okoye, Woman Leader, Hon. Mrs. Ngozika Okibe, Youth Leader, Hon. Romanus Okwuibe, Councillorship Candidate, Hon. Chekwube Omanu, Hon. Sunday Udeh among many distinguished indigenes of Ozalla town. NNL.