A hurricane couldn’t stop it. Two billion naira couldn’t buy it. Cash crunch couldn’t swing it. Majority of the people of Enugu wanted and have elected Dr. Peter Mbah as the next governor of Enugu State (South East Nigeria).
Dr. Mbah stood at the centre of an historic victory after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the March 18, 2023 governorship election in the State. He won enough votes, sweeping away the candidate of the Labour Party who trailed very closely.
Mbah passed milestone after milestone, winning majority of the State’s Local Government Areas announced. Many residents of the State rolled into the streets to celebrate what many described, with perhaps understandable exhilaration, a new era in Enugu State.
The election was a landslide with Dr. Mbah receiving 160,895 electoral votes while Barr. Chijioke Edeoga of Labour Party hauled 157,552 votes. Others are APC – 14,575 and APGA -17,983.
To the very end, Mbah’s close rival Barr. Edeoga, was eclipsed by an opponent who was nothing short of a phenomenon, drawing huge crowds epitomized by the tens of thousands of people who turned out to defend his victory.
Mbah also fought the headwinds of a relentlessly political wave of the Obidients which brought down gladiators to their untimely knees. Surprisingly!
Mbah led his party in a decisive sweep, putting Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in control of the State after losing two senatorial seats and majority of the House of Representative seats to the Labour Party.
It was hotly contested State election. But according to exit polls, the majority of people who stepped into the voting booth were voting for the candidate who could bolster the economy of the State and improve on its infrastructure and human capital development. And Peter Mbah fits into this frame.
The day of the election was shimmered with history as voters lined-up to vote for Mbah who, over the course of five months, commanded an extraordinary amount of attention from the public.
At the State’s central results collation centre in Enugu on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, thousands of supporters gathered to celebrate their candidate. The audience erupted in bursts of applause each time a Local Government Area was called for Mbah. A thundering roar sounded when the INEC roll call projected Mbah victory.
At this point, compilation of the misinformation, disinformation and rife with speculation and sinister motives by the opposition parties clipped in, nearly marred the electoral process which led the INEC to stand-down collation of result for 48 hours. Throughout the hours, people filed out for hours, some showing up at dawn to dawn in INEC premises to ensure that no manipulation took place.
But the challenge fails to present any evidence of misconduct, illegal votes or that Dr. Mbah did not in fact receive the highest number of votes, let alone establish any degree of fraud or a sufficient error rate that would have undermined the certainty of the election results.
However, on resumption of collation, INEC satisfied with the conduct of the election, declared Dr. Peter Mbah the winner of the election on Wednesday night.
For the candidates of other political parties, the night represented a bitter setback and left them contemplating where they now stand in Enugu politics.
The election ended what by any definition was one of the most remarkable contests in Enugu political history, drawing what was by every appearance unparalleled public interest.
The Governor-elect is now faced with the task of governing the State through a difficult period: the likelihood of a deep and prolonged economic plunge and infrastructural setbacks.
Mbah has proven to be a phenomenal, drawing huge and excited crowds and defeating political heavyweights. In his campaign, he offered some fairly ambitious promises. In recognition of the difficult transition he faces, given the economic crisis, he is expected to hit the ground running on assumption of office on May 29, 2023.
The result of this election is an important historical event. The result has two implications. First, the vast majority of the people voted for Dr Mbah and second, and more important, Peter Mbah is a political and administrative genius well above other contenders.
During the campaign, Mbah’s team worked to build a vote strength at grassroots level and used what his supporters viewed as the candidate’s natural charisma, unique life story and inspiring message of hope and change to draw large crowds of supporters and admirers.
His team also worked to bring new voters—many of them young, a demographics they believed favored Dr. Mbah—to win the election. Additionally, the campaign was notable for its unprecedented issue-based campaign.
Mbah’s planned policies are promising – Enugu has brighter future under his Governorship.
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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.
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