By Johnpaul Anih, Ph.D
In few months time, political parties will retreat into their familiar rituals of primaries, bargaining, posturing and power plays, all in preparation for the next general election. By August, substitutions would have been concluded, by September, INEC would unveil the final list of candidates. The stage will then be set, the drums rolled out and the contest formally joined.
In Enugu today, one reality is standing firm like a rock in a flowing river, the reelection of Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah is non-negotiable and sacrosanct.
Politics at its noblest, is not a game of noise or nostalgia. It is a serious business of choice, anchored on records, competence, capacity and clarity of vision. When the dust of rhetoric settles and emotions are stripped away, the electorate is left with one central question: who has delivered? and who is most likely to deliver more?
Governor Mbah has answered that question, not with grandstanding, but with work.
As political parties present their flag bearers, whether under the APC or other platforms, including those now congregating under the ADC and its co-travellers, the people of Enugu will not be voting in a vacuum.
They will be voting with their eyes wide open, measuring promises against performance, intentions against impact.
This administration’s footprints are not written in sand, they are etched in concrete, classrooms, hospitals, roads and policies.
In the education sector, Governor Mbah has pursued reforms that speak to the future, not the past, layed foundations that prioritise quality, access and relevance.
In health, the focus has been on strengthening systems and expanding reach, because a healthy people is the first wealth of any state.
Infrastructure has ceased to be a campaign slogan. Roads are opening up communities, security architecture is being strengthened to restore confidence and economic policies are deliberately structured to grow the state’s productive base.
Agriculture is no longer treated as subsistence folklore but as serious business, while women and youth empowerment have moved beyond tokenism to opportunity.
In all these, the governor has governed with a clear sense of direction. Like a craftsman who knows his tools, he understands that development is cumulative. It builds on yesterday to secure tomorrow.
That is why the ongoing and completed projects of this administration form a compelling argument that speaks louder than any billboard or rally.
Who, in all honesty, will survey these strides and choose regression? Who will see a house steadily rising and insist that the builder be replaced mid-construction?
Only a careless tenant abandons a shelter because of impatience.
This is not to deny anyone their democratic right to aspire. Ambition is not a crime and the political space remains open.
If you wish to run against Governor Mbah, it is your right, guaranteed by law. One can only wish you well. But rights do not automatically translate to relevance, and aspiration is not the same as acceptance.
The people of Enugu are pragmatic. They know that governance is not an experiment to be reset every four years without regard to progress. They understand that continuity, when anchored on performance, is wisdom, not weakness.
Governor Mbah’s reelection, therefore, is not about sentiment or party colouration, it is about safeguarding momentum. It is about protecting a vision already in motion. It is about choosing the certainty of tested leadership over the gamble of untested alternatives.
More so, elections are moral verdicts. They reward effort, punish failure, and affirm competence. When that verdict is delivered in Enugu, it will be guided by evidence, not emotion.
And the evidence is clear: Governor Mbah’s reelection is non-negotiable, because the future Enugu has begun cannot be abandoned halfway.
