By Dr. Collins Ogbu, SSA to the Enugu State Governor on Strategic Communications
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!A call for evidence-based governance is not only welcome; it is necessary. In any serious democracy, citizens must ask questions, interrogate policy, and demand accountability from those entrusted with public resources. As public servants, we should never fear scrutiny because accountability strengthens governance and deepens public trust. However, scrutiny must also be fair, balanced, and rooted in verifiable facts. It should not descend into selective skepticism where visible progress is casually dismissed simply because every spreadsheet, engineering sheet, procurement memo, or financial schedule was not attached to a media response. Governance communication can always improve, and no sincere government should resist that reality. But it would be intellectually dishonest to confuse incomplete communication with an absence of performance. Those are two very different things.
On the issue of the 260 Smart Green Schools, I agree completely that citizens have every right to ask how many are completed, equipped, and fully operational. That is a legitimate democratic question. What is not legitimate is the suggestion that the initiative exists only in speeches, ceremonies, or press releases. The Smart Green School programme remains one of the boldest education reforms in Nigeria today, with one modern school being delivered in each ward of Enugu State. This is not a token intervention; it is a statewide redesign of the learning environment. The project has attracted attention beyond government platforms. TechCabal reported on the schools as digitally equipped learning centres designed to transform education in both rural and urban communities. More significantly, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), after direct inspection, publicly commended the initiative as a courageous and strategic intervention that moved innovation beyond theory into reality. These are not self-written commendations by government spokespersons. They are external validations of measurable progress. As matters stand today, all the Smart Green Schools are structurally standing, while over 200 are fully equipped and ready for phased commissioning during His Excellency’s scheduled ward tours.
It is also important for fair-minded observers to understand how infrastructure delivery works. A project involving 260 simultaneous construction sites across a state will naturally have facilities at different stages of completion. Some may be entirely finished, some undergoing internal fittings, some at roofing level, some receiving solar installations, some awaiting furniture, and others being prepared for formal commissioning. That is how major infrastructure programmes are executed across the world. To visit one site still receiving finishing touches and then declare the entire programme a failure would be like seeing a bridge at 80 percent completion and concluding no bridge exists. What matters in serious governance assessment is momentum, continuity, funding consistency, and eventual delivery. Those indicators are clearly evident in Enugu.
The same principle applies to reforms in the health sector. Questions about the locations of hospitals, their completion percentages, equipment status, and delivery timelines are valid requests. Indeed, I believe such information should increasingly be presented through structured public dashboards for easy citizen access. But let us be clear: the absence of a detailed project register in a short rebuttal article does not mean hospitals and Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres do not exist. Public responses are not engineering manuals, tender schedules, or procurement dossiers. Citizens should demand transparency, yes, but not weaponize brevity into false allegations of non-performance. It is equally important to state the strategic milestones already recorded in this sector. This administration completed all 260 Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres across the wards of Enugu State, with 206 already fully equipped and ready for commissioning. These facilities are bringing modern, round-the-clock primary healthcare closer to communities, reducing pressure on overcrowded urban hospitals, and improving early diagnosis, maternal care, immunization, and emergency response.
At the secondary level, needs assessments for 54 Cottage and General Hospitals have been completed, laying the foundation for phased reconstruction and comprehensive overhauls of referral healthcare services statewide. At the tertiary level, construction of the 300-bed Enugu International Hospital is progressing as a flagship specialist institution aimed at reducing outbound medical tourism, while the establishment of SUMAS Teaching Hospital is expanding medical education, research capacity, specialist manpower development, and residency training. Collectively, these investments are improving access to quality care, creating jobs, strengthening emergency response systems, and demonstrating how stronger public revenues and strategic financing can be translated into measurable gains in citizens’ wellbeing.
Regarding debt and public finance, some have asked which report supports statements about Enugu’s healthy debt-to-revenue position. That is a fair question because serious economic conversations deserve proper referencing. However, it is also necessary to educate the public that such metrics are not invented in press offices. They are derived from recognized sources including Debt Management Office reports, internally generated revenue figures, federal allocations, audited accounts, budget implementation reports, and performance statements. More importantly, debt in itself is not a sin. What matters is the purpose for which debt is acquired and the discipline with which it is deployed. A state that borrows to build roads, schools, hospitals, water systems, transport networks, and growth-enabling infrastructure is fundamentally different from one that borrows merely to finance recurrent waste or political consumption. Across the world, productive borrowing remains a legitimate development tool. Lagos, Johannesburg, Nairobi, London, and countless growth centres have all used structured financing to unlock infrastructure expansion.
Another example of how this administration has deployed these resources, alongside improved IGR and asset optimization, is the remodelling of Enugu’s transport and logistics ecosystem in barely two years. Governor Peter Mbah has undertaken one of the most ambitious transport overhauls in Enugu State’s history. His administration delivered five ultramodern transport terminals at Holy Ghost, Nsukka, Abakpa, and Gariki, replacing chaotic loading points with safer, organized, cleaner, and more efficient hubs for interstate and intra-city travel. The state also procured 200 CNG mass transit buses, with an initial rollout of 100 buses, alongside over 80 modern bus shelters and a digital e-ticketing system designed to reduce leakages, improve accountability, and make commuting cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable for workers, traders, students, and families.
In addition, the launch of Enugu Air and upgrades tied to Akanu Ibiam International Airport are strengthening Enugu’s position as a regional mobility, tourism, and investment hub. Collectively, these projects have eased daily commuting, reduced traffic disorder, expanded transport options, created jobs, stimulated commerce around terminals, and demonstrated how public resources generated through stronger revenue performance and prudent financing can be converted into visible economic value and a better quality of life for citizens.
When critics ask which roads were built with borrowed funds, they often oversimplify how public finance works. Capital facilities are frequently structured to support multiple projects across sectors, not one road with one cheque. Infrastructure envelopes may simultaneously fund roads, schools, hospitals, water schemes, drainage systems, and urban renewal projects. Under Governor Peter Mbah, the people of Enugu can physically see ongoing capital improvements in transport corridors, educational facilities, sanitation systems, public lighting, drainage expansion, and modernization efforts. The honest conversation should therefore be about expanding disclosure and tracking outcomes, not pretending nothing is happening.
For context, over 300 urban and rural roads have been paved, with about 120 simultaneously ongoing. Completed strategic roads include the 21.6km Agu Mgbuji–Ogbete Road in Ehamufu, the 6.7km Akpoga–Mbulu-Owo–17th Junction Road in Ohuani, and the 2km Alo Aluminium–Emenite Junction Road in Emene. In Emene Zone alone, roads in Nnamani Street, Obiagu Street, Soil Plaza axis, Eziani Street, Isaac Okoro Street, St. Patrick Street, Nsude Street, Maku Street, and Godwin Street have been paved. Also completed in the same zone are Nkanu Street, Nwabueze Street, Uga-Aninwede Street, Ifeanyi Emeazu Street, Airport Mainland Road, Umunwa Street, Ifemelumma Street, and Ekulu Street.
Again, roads on Onwunwa Street, Successways Avenue, Onyekwena Street, Eddie Jideoffor Street, and Asadu Street, all within Thinkers Corner/Airport Extension Zone, have been completed. In the Thinkers’ Corner/Abakpa axis, Ugwueke Road and Ugbene II–Eke Layout roads are fully paved. In Trans Ekulu/New GRA/Old GRA Zone, roads such as 5th Avenue, West Road 1, West Road 8, West Road 9, and Uguese Close have all been beautifully reconstructed and surfaced. Furthermore, roads in Udenweze Street, Eziagu Street, Nanka Street, Nzimiro Street, Assembly Street, Nnaji Street, Nteje Street, Amawbia Street, Umunnachi Street, Umueke Street, Edward Nnaji Park Road, Nonyelum Estate–Nnaji Park Link, Amawbia Close, Umuezebi Street, and Ifite Ukpo Street have all been constructed or rehabilitated for ease of access.
In Achara Layout/Uwani/Gariki Zone, a whopping 7.7km of roads have been aesthetically paved, including the 2.3km Monaque Avenue Road. Also completed are Nnajinwangwu Street, Ufuma Street, Ugwuaji Street, Nnaji Ogbodo Street, Ozobu Street, Abba Street, Agu Street, and Enugu Agidi Street. In the same Achara/Uwani/Gariki Zone, Umunnagwu Street, Umualor Street, and Akpi Street roads have equally been completed. This is in addition to the 895 metres Sam Eze Avenue and Sam Eze Ugwuaji Link Network roads, which were executed alongside adjoining streets within the same zone. It may also interest critics to know that Umuonu-Udeji Road and Ologo Main Road have also been completed.
Also, in the Independence Layout Zone, roads in Paully Jaja Street, Ozubulu Street, Emma Otaluka Street, Nwakamma Street, and Ogbaru Street have all been beautifully paved. In the Awkunanaw Zone, Ubaka Street, Okestina Street, and Ubaka-Reuben Street have all been completed. Again, Ozalla Ezimo Road, Amucha Road, Tank Avenue, Penoks Road, and Ibe Street roads have also been completed. This is in addition to the 2.9km Spurs–Ndiagu Owo Road, as well as the nearly completed 40.1km Owo-Ubahu-Amankanu-Umualor-Ikem dual carriage gateway and the construction/dualization of the 44.7km Penoks-Abakpa-Ugwogo-Opi-Nsukka Road corridor, all of which are set to make commuting within Enugu faster, safer, and hitch-free.
I also acknowledge the criticism that sources should be specifically named when cited. That is a reasonable communication standard. However, it is false to imply that no independent validation exists. TechCabal has reported positively on our education reforms. The Guardian Nigeria has covered the Smart Green School transition. UBEC and even the UNESCO publicly praised the model after direct inspection. These examples show that progress in Enugu is not confined to government press statements. We can always cite better, but no one should distort the facts by pretending outside recognition does not exist.
On tone and rhetoric, I maintain that governance communication should be factual, respectful, and evidence-driven. Personal insults do little to persuade serious-minded citizens. Yet it is also true that some critics deploy inflammatory language, misinformation, half-truths, and reputational attacks designed more to provoke outrage than to encourage solutions. In such circumstances, exchanges can become heated. Nonetheless, the higher path remains clear: respond with facts, remain civil, and allow performance to speak louder than provocation.
On taxation, I fully agree that taxes must translate into visible value. Citizens deserve to see returns on every naira contributed. But value must be measured comprehensively. It includes quality roads, better schools, improved healthcare access, water systems, cleaner cities, safer communities, efficient governance, digital services, and an environment where businesses can thrive. Enugu’s rising profile today as one of Nigeria’s cleanest, most orderly, investor-friendly, and fastest-modernizing subnational capitals is not accidental. It is the product of deliberate reforms, disciplined planning, and execution.
Could government do more in the areas of dashboards, monthly project updates, contractor disclosures, milestone reporting, and citizen-facing scorecards? Certainly. Governance is a journey of continuous improvement, and constructive criticism helps sharpen performance. But it would be unfair and misleading to deny visible progress simply because communication can still improve.
My final position remains straightforward: citizens should continue to ask questions, demand transparency, and hold leaders accountable. That is democracy. But critics must also be honest enough to acknowledge measurable achievements where they exist. The mature path is neither blind praise nor cynical denial. It is to demand better reporting while recognizing the substantial progress Enugu State is already making under the leadership of Governor Peter Mbah.