By Dennis Agbo, ENUGU
The Special Assistant to Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah on Media and External Relations, Mazi Uche Anichukwu, has responded to recent social media criticisms of the administration, highlighting what he described as reforms and projects in revenue generation, agriculture, industrialisation, education and aviation.
Anichukwu, who spoke on Sunday, disputed claims that residents of the state were being overtaxed, saying the administration had reviewed and reduced some state-level charges while eliminating daily revenue collection from petty traders.
He said a committee comprising government representatives, organised labour, civil society organisations and market leaders had reviewed the state’s revenue regime and found Enugu’s rates comparatively lower than those of other South-East states before further reductions were made.
According to him, the state’s internally generated revenue rose from N26.8 billion in 2022 to N406.7 billion in 2025, largely as a result of reforms in revenue collection and the monetisation of government assets rather than increased taxation.
Anichukwu said N51.5 billion, representing 12.6 per cent of the 2025 IGR, came from tax revenue, while N355.2 billion, or 87.4 per cent, came from non-tax sources.
He attributed the increase to measures including the Consolidated Demand Notice, Treasury Single Account, electronic payment systems and tighter controls designed to reduce revenue leakages.
The governor’s aide also said the administration had prioritised capital expenditure, claiming that capital expenditure accounted for 79 per cent of the 2024 budget, 86 per cent of the 2025 budget and 80 per cent of the 2026 budget.
On agriculture and industrialisation, Anichukwu said the administration had attracted private-sector partnerships to revive abandoned assets and agricultural projects.
He cited the N100 billion investment in the revival and expansion of Enugu United Palm Products Limited, EUPPL, describing it as an agro-industrial project being expanded from its original 6,700 hectares to about 20,000 hectares.
According to him, the project, operated through a public-private partnership involving Diamond Stripe Limited under Pragmatic Palms Limited, had commenced commercial production of refined palm products, while about $2.2 million was being invested in a refinery for palm oil and palm-kernel products.
Anichukwu also cited the revival of the 10,000-hectare Enugu Tribu Songhai Farms in Ezeagu, the proposed revival of Premier Cashew Industry and the development of 200-hectare farm estates across the state’s 260 political wards.
He listed the Nortra Tractor Assembly and Service Plant, being developed in partnership with ODK Group of Denmark; an Integrated Livestock Development Centre at Ubahu/Amankanu; and mechanised agricultural projects being undertaken in partnership with the South East Development Commission across three local government areas.
On industrial assets, Anichukwu listed the completion of the Enugu International Conference Centre, upgrade of Hotel Presidential, ongoing revival of Sunrise Flour Mills and revitalisation of Nigergas Limited.
He said Nigergas, established in 1962 and dormant for decades, was revived in August 2025 with upgraded equipment for the production of medical and industrial gases.
According to him, the plant currently has an installed capacity of 100 cubic metres of oxygen per hour and 45 cubic metres of acetylene per hour, while plans are underway to add nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide and compressed natural gas facilities.
On education, Anichukwu said criticisms of the Smart Green School initiative were based on what he described as a misunderstanding of the administration’s broader education policy.
He said the programme was designed around experiential learning, beginning from early childhood education and incorporating technology-driven learning, robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and the Internet of Things.
According to him, pupils would receive free uniforms and daily meals, while the administration was developing Smart/Model Secondary Schools across the 17 local government areas and Technical and Vocational Education and Training, TVET, institutions across the state’s federal constituencies.
He particularly highlighted the Government Technical College, Enugu, which he said had been transformed from a dilapidated facility into a modern technical institution with practical training equipment and accommodation for up to 1,000 students.
On aviation, Anichukwu described the establishment of Enugu Air as another major intervention, saying the airline had expanded connectivity between Enugu, Abuja, Lagos and Kano.
He said the airline’s regional expansion would include a planned Enugu-Douala service from September 23, 2026, followed by other West and Central African destinations, while the administration was working towards establishing direct international connectivity beyond Africa.
On the state’s overall performance, Anichukwu cited the 2026 Phillips Consulting States Performance Index, which he said placed Enugu at the top among the states assessed for improvement relative to the national average.
He said the report assessed 33 states using 37 indicators covering security, education, health, infrastructure, governance, economic development and fiscal performance, combining objective data with citizen-perception data.
Anichukwu also cited what he described as Enugu’s movement from 35th to sixth position in the national ease-of-doing-business rankings by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PEBEC.
He acknowledged that challenges remained but urged critics and members of the public to assess the administration based on verifiable projects and reforms rather than what he described as narratives circulating on social media.
He invited critics and residents to visit the various projects across the state and independently assess their implementation.
“Let’s give Mbah his flowers, please,” Anichukwu said, stressing that the governor had spent a little over three years in office.
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