To deny Mbah's transformative leadership will be sinful - Ozekhome *As Dino Melaye, other lawyers hail Mbah

---

Enugu State Gov. Peter Mbah exchanging pleasantries with Mike Ozekhome SAN

---

By Iheanyi Chukwudi

Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah has been commended by lawyers and participants at the ongoing Annual General Conference (AGC), of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), in Enugu, in the to for what they described as his transformative leadership in the past two years.

Leading in the commendations on Tuesday shortly after the Governor’s presentation on “Leadership and Transformation,” where he showcased Enugu State, sharing practical strategies he was applying in overcoming barriers and unlocking Enugu’s opportunities, is legal luminary, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN).

Ozekhome who said he was familiar with the state over the years stated that it would be evil for anyone to deny the obvious transformations under Governor Mbah.

He said, “I come to Enugu every day. So, I am not a stranger at all to Enugu State. It will be difficult for me to deny that I have not seen some groundbreaking projects. To deny your transformative leadership will be sinful, and I do not want to be a sinner."

He wondered how Mbah was able to “do these great things in a highly politicised environment infested by political buccaneers, and in an environment where there is more politicking than governance."

For another lawyer, Senator Dino Melaye, Mbah has emerged as a pacesetter in good governance in two years.

He said, “I am particularly and personally impressed with the Governor of Enugu State because all these things have been done in two years. I only can see that you think out of the box.

Melaye praised the Governor for putting competence above political considerations in the recruitment of his team, saying, “Also, I am impressed with your expertise in the recruitment process, in appointing your political appointees.

The intellectual sagacity displayed by them is too much. It gives hope that Nigeria can be fine again. It contributes a lot to the progress you are achieving and have achieved."

Earlier in his presentation, Governor Mbah observed that transformational leadership demanded the audacity to envision something beyond low expectations, insisting that such leaders must ground their work in vision, values, and a disruptive strategy to achieve the 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."

Ḿbah explained that such humongous 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.

He said, “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% reduction in violent crime.

“This stability is the bedrock upon which investment, jobs, and society can grow.”