• Sounds upbeat on successful electoral outcome based on his outstanding performance
•Tells party faithful Tinubu’s re-election is a task that must be done
Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State has set in motion the machinery for its 2027 electioneering following the inauguration of a huge campaign council comprising over 7,000 members.
Governor Peter Mbah inaugurated the campaign council ON Tuesday evening at the International Conference Centre, Enugu.
Mbah pledged to lead the party’s election campaigns to every nook and cranny of the state, showcasing his works, instead of making promises.
He said his administration would face the people of Enugu with boldness in soliciting renewal of the mandate they gave him in 2023, saying he has justified the confidence reposed in him.
Mbah stated that Enugu was already soaring high in economic growth and development, saying the state has recorded outstanding infrastructural transformation over the past three years.
He recalled that the 2026 Phillips Consulting State Performance Momentum Index ranked Enugu as the fastest-improving state, having recorded a Momentum Score of +1.15, the highest by any of the 33 states assessed.
Mbah pointed out that under his administration Enugu had made tremendous progress in Ease of Doing Business. Quoting the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) report, he said Enugu had leaped from 36th out of 37 subnationals in 2023 to sixth position nationally in 2025.
The governor said he was already “really excited” to take his report card to all the 68 Development Centres of the state, including the markets, with the campaign team, adding that he would be inaugurating projects at each of the 260 wards in the course of the electioneering.
Mbah stated, “The people of Enugu cannot wait to see us. They are so excited. And as I go to every ward and Development Centre, I will also take time to commission both the Smart Green School and the Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centre.”
He stressed the need for the campaign council to vigorously market President Bola Tinubu to ensure that he garnered maximum votes in Enugu State. He said all the impactful projects of his administration were accomplished because Mr. President made more funds available to states.
According to Mbah, “We must also campaign hard for the president because it also took those bold and courageous policies of his to achieve what we accomplished in the last three years.
“You can have all this vision and conviction, but if you do not back it up with money, you cannot do anything. Therefore, we also need to recognise and acknowledge that.”
The Enugu governor, who is APC Campaign Coordinator for the South-east, said Mr. President had done so much for the zone that he deserved full support for his re-election bid, citing several major infrastructural interventions by Tinubu in the South-east, and Enugu State, in particular.
He stated that Tinubu had shown good faith towards Ndigbo in terms of development projects, strategic appointments, establishment of South East Development Commission (SEDC), among others, even though the region gave him a marginal percentage of its votes in 2023.
Mbah lauded Mr. President for his sterling performance, saying that his bold economic reforms have stabilised the country’s faltering economy.
He added that macroeconomic indicators had shown that the country was on the path of regaining its economic strength.
Basking in his own performance and that of Tinubu at the federal level, Mbah fired on the APC faithful, telling them to be unapologetically proud of the party they belonged to and be ready to defend its performance.
The campaign council, which comprises 51 Directorates, is chaired by the governor, with five vice chairmen assisting him to coordinate the campaign.
They include the deputy governor, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai; Deputy National Chairman, APC (South), Dr. Ben Nwoye; Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Uchenna Ugwu; Chairman of Enugu APC, Dr. Martin Chukwunweike; and Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Professor Chidiebere Onyia.
The campaign council parades the who’s who in Enugu politics, with an Advisory Council comprising former President of the Senate, Ken Nnamani; former Governor of old Anambra State, Senator Jim Nwobodo; and former military governor of old Anambra State and Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Allison Madueke (Rtd.).
Others include former Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji; former Minister of Information and governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2023 governorship election in the state, Mr. Frank Nweke Jr.; business mogul, Prince Arthur Eze; Senator Chuka Utazi; and former deputy governors Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, Bishop Ralph Nwoye, Dr. Sunday Onyebuchi, and Chief Okechukwu Itanyi.
All the party chieftains that spoke at the event pledged to work hard to ensure that all the APC candidates from top to bottom emerged victorious at the poll come 2027.
Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Kingsley Udeh, SAN, said the South-east must be ready to reciprocate the good gesture of Tinubu by giving him massive votes.
In his acceptance speech, Director-General of the Campaign Organisation, Chief Charlie Mbah, while thanking the party leaders and faithful for the confidence reposed in him and his team, promised to lead a formidable campaign that would guarantee APC’s victory in the state.
“My commitment is to build an inclusive, organised, result-oriented and issues-based campaign that reaches every senatorial zone, local government area, ward, community, and polling unit across Enugu State,” he said.