𝐖𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮’: 𝐄𝐧𝐮𝐠𝐮 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕

A powerful delegation of political leaders from Enugu State has pledged support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, telling the president at a meeting in the Presidential Villa on Tuesday that “we will stand proudly with you.”

Governor Peter Mbah led the delegation, which included a former Senate President, service chiefs, past governors, ministers, and traditional rulers. Together, they said they were speaking on behalf of the state’s seven million citizens.

“We state boldly and without ambiguity that this relationship has earned our trust and support. On that basis, Your Excellency, we will stand proudly with you on election day in January 2027″, Mbah told the President.

The governor thanked Tinubu for his engagement with Enugu State, recalling the president’s visit to the state on January 4, 2025.

“Mr President, you are a true friend of Enugu State,” Mbah said. “You broke a long-standing political distance between this region and the federal government, crossing party lines, at a time when the Enugu electorate did not favour your party. Yet you chose to invest in our state because you recognised what we were building.”

Tinubu, in his response, praised Governor Mbah’s leadership and said the growing political realignment toward the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a direct result of his administration’s economic reforms.

“You have been a transformative leader,” Tinubu said. “The results you are outlining, like security, infrastructure, education and healthcare, are not abstract. They are the evidence that reform is working, that difficult decisions are yielding real outcomes and that Nigeria is moving forward.”

The president dismissed critics of his policies, urging the governor to remain focused.

“Ignore the naysayers. Stay focused,” Tinubu said. “When you succeed and they are angry, let them be. I do not lose sleep over criticism because we are committed to building a nation of bright hope for our children.”

Former Senate President Ken Nnamani, who was part of the delegation, said the visit was primarily to express gratitude for federal interventions in the South East, including roads, railways, and aviation projects.

“We have a leader in Enugu State, and we have confidence in him,” Nnamani said, referring to Governor Mbah. “He is leading us right. The great achievements under his leadership would not have been possible without your support.”

Nnamani added, “The entire population of Enugu State, of more than seven million people, would have loved to come here to say a big thank you, Mr President. You will benefit tremendously from the support.”

The president assured the delegation that key infrastructure requests, including a railway line from Port Harcourt to Enugu and further power sector reforms, would receive attention.

“On the matter you’ve raised — the railway line from Port Harcourt to Enugu, the power sector reforms and infrastructure — this is the backbone of economic development,” Tinubu said. “We will do more.”

The meeting underscored a significant political realignment in the South East, with Governor Mbah — formerly of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — now firmly in Tinubu’s “progressive family,” as the president put it.

“You were in the other party,” Tinubu said to Mbah. “I don’t want to give them credit by naming them, but you are a member of the progressive family today. I am proud of that.”