Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah is truly one of the great human capital builders in Nigeria’s history. A lawyer, public administrator, philanthropist and politician, he made fortunes in oil and gas. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ltd., a leading indigenous oil and gas company in the downstream petroleum sector.
Mbah is a Nigerian Professional and businessman with over 28 years experience. He has a long track record of entrepreneurship, characterized by iconoclasm, which has driven him to continually question the status quo in every industry he has found himself.
Mr. Mbah’s experience cuts across various sectors and activities including, Import trade, oil and gas sales and distribution and maritime logistics. He also has his footprints on the sands of public service, having served as the Chief of Staff to the Enugu State Governor and Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development of the Enugu State Government.
His Quest for continuous growth and empowerment has seen him through the completion of a Chief Executive Program at the Lagos Business School, after which he bagged an MBA from IESE Business School, Barcelona Spain. He holds an LL.B in Law from the University of East London, and an LLM in Maritime Law from Lagos State University. He is also a Fellow of the Certified Institute of Public Administration and Management (CIPM)
As diverse as Mr. Mbah’s career has been, its consistent underpinning factor has been his passion for excellence, integrity, corporate governance and the perpetual search for knowledge.
Currently, he is the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State for the March 18, 2023 governorship election.
Even many of his political foes say he is hard not to like. You meet him, you like him. Fair enough. In the overall, as the election draws closers, the electorates have newfound respect for a man who worked his way up from nothingto build an empire deeply committed to
Africa’s significant progress at home and on the world stage.
Despite his relatively gentleness, he is tenacious and tough. He is a leader by example, homebuilder and developer before getting into politics two decades ago.
Mbah can be personable, but he is not a politician who exudes joie de vivre. He smiles effortlessly and stays relentlessly on a message – to effectively chart a new path for Enugu State. His persona communicates nothing so much as grim determination to see a prosperous people of Enugu State.
Friends and colleagues describe him as maniacally hardworking and focused, sometimes to a fault: once he makes a decision, they say, it is nearly impossible to change his mind, hence he decision to ensure even development of Enugu State.
He is a rising democrat star with a compelling backstory and talent for political oratory.
As the governorship election in Enugu State advances, many things will happen between now and March 18, and most of them are, at this point in time, unknowable. But there is one thing—if there are many candidates running for the governorship of Enugu State and they all stay in the race— Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah will win.
Without mincing words, Enugu career politicians want Mbah to disappear from race. But ask them how they plan to do that, and the discussion quickly veers into the realm of hopeful hypotheticals – maybe he will be overwhelmed with sponsored media junks and speculation of falsehoods or maybe he will flame out, or just get bored with politics and wander away. But Mba has amassed an enormous campaign war chest, and has a large numeric advantage in a deeply PDP state.
Other obscured candidates may play to the gallery given that in recent years, running for political office has become a career move towards a gig for media extravaganza and mammoth ego trip, yet Mbah is poised to win because he remains the putative favourite of the people of Enugu State.
The imprimatur does not stop other challengers from making their run for the governorship of the State. Each tries to find a lane to challenge Mbah, however, perhaps, his candidacy draws the most attention, a newcomer making his first run for elective office, leaning on his executive experience and economic bona fides, his multitude endorsements across political divide is a golden ticket.
Mbah loves and cares passionately about Enugu State’s future. He promised to fight for a State that works for everyone – every person and every family in every corner, from the urban to the smallest rural areas; to build the State into an economic powerhouse; to construct strong road networks to boost agricultural produce and market values, functional cottage hospitals with resident doctors, schools, rural electrification, a great quality of life, and compassion for those who need help.
Mbah never stopped being a lib-triggering politician; he kept up his crusade against the phantom threats and false online media siege. They were obviously politically motivated because he is dominant choice for the Lion Building. But all attempts to oust him have failed spectacularly. The harbingers of falsehood did not only sort themselves naturally, they set him on the high pedestal. And far from damaging Mbah, the feud have left him better off politically than he was before, burnishing his brand with skeptical politicians.
For Mba, every attempt to rubbish him, was a blessing in disguise. It gives him an opportunity, quite honestly, to remind the people of what his giant strides were – promise keeper. And that what he tells the people of Enugu he would do as their governor, that he shall do – dictum meum pactum.
In an age when pundits and scholars fret that democracy is hanging by a thread, it is Mbah’s approach that holds the greatest promise of bringing the people back to reality. He never went into to political war with oppositions, but consigned them to the past, ignored their provocations and has channel his energy on giving Ndi Enugu better governance as soon as he is sworn-in on May 29, 2023.
Paradoxically, all the political fireworks against him that he didn’t respond have accrued significantly to his benefit in this election. He has steadfastly refused to engage with questions about other candidates who have thrown their hats in the ring, he focuses on his selfless ambitions and what his race says about a better future.
In an extensive examination of his life and record — across more than 100 interviews with aides, allies, antagonists and peers who detailed several previously unreported episodes spanning his decade in corporate space — the most consistent appraisal was that Dr. Peter Mbah believes his raw instincts are unrivaled and that he may well be corrected. He has for years merrily shunned the perspectives of political godfatherism which transmogrified him to pure political figure and he has found himself validated at every turn.
Mbah’s canniest feat has been dazzling, and heartening Enugu people see him as one of their finest, and the primus inter pares!
No gainsaying that it seems more likely that other candidates are afraid of losing not because of anything they done wrong, but because of what Mbah has done right: humble beginning, enviable track records, leadership qualities and ambitious economic plans, clear-cut manifesto for Enugu State —which make him the rare—perhaps the only—qualified candidate for Enugu Lion Building.
He is favoured to win.
Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, will make Enugu, once again, that Shining City on a Hill.
——————————
Written by Chidi-Peters Okorie – a journalist creating high-quality informed content on local and international affairs, politics and humanities. He has worked both in and out of newsroom since 2023. He has significant experience in community resilience and nonprofit community development initiatives. Also, he is trained in Conflict Resolution and Diversity, and has special interests in Media Law.