Some groups in the Catholic Diocese of Enugu have adopted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Enugu, Dr Peter Mbah, as their preferred candidate ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The Catholic groups include leaders and representatives of the Catholic Men Organisation (CMO), Catholic Women Organisation (CWO), Catholic Youths Organization of Nigeria (CYON), among others, otherwise known as the Catholic laity, from different parishes in the diocese.
They disclosed this on Wednesday at the Holy Ghost Cathedral, Enugu at an interactive session with Mbah which afforded them the opportunity to listen to the governorship hopeful and his agenda for the people of the state.
The members expressed satisfaction with the impressive and robust manifesto exhaustively presented by the PDP guber candidate.
They described him as a generous heart who will fulfill God’s purposes for the state by championing the right moral values, lifting people out of poverty and catering for the general welfare of the citizens.
Adopting Mbah as their sole candidate, the Chairman of CWO, Prof. Okechukwu Adonai, the CWO Chairperson, Mrs Juliet Ani, Youth leaders, Maxwell Okwudiri and Anthonia Okonkwo presented a gift of the Holy Bible to him as a symbol of authority to lead the state.
They further reiterated their unalloyed commitment to take the message of Mbah’s excellent manifesto to their various parishes and communities, promising to mobilize all eligible voters for his electoral victory at the 2023 poll.
“We are promising you on behalf of our men, women, and youths that you are our collective project. We don’t have anywhere else to go.
“We commit you to the hands of our Mother Mary in this journey, which we have taken as our own,” they said.
Speaking also, the Director of Politics/Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Very Rev. Donatus Onuigbo said the business mogul remained a dedicated Christian who had the fear of God, and had been supporting the church long before thinking of vying for the position of governor.
On his part, Mbah expressed gratitude to the church for identifying with the cause to change the face of humanity, bringing succour to the state, eradicate poverty, addressing the lingering national economic challenges and work for the sustainable peace of the state.
Mbah, who highlighted his development plans for the people, insisted that thinking outside the box by creating alternative sources of revenues that would see the state being less dependent on the dwindling federal allocations was possible with the right persons.
He said his integrated development programmes which would be driven by the private sector and moving the state current economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion in terms of the gross domestic product.
He said more employments would be created for the youths through special interventions in the agro-allied processing industry, mineral and energy resources sector, infusion of information and communication technology (ICT) in the education system.
Others are skills acquisition and vocational training centres and N100,000 billion revolving loans.
Mbah reiterated his resolve to launch industrial revolution through integrated sector based productivity by identifying a number of sectors that would boost the economy with the collaboration of the private sector.
The PDP candidate stressed that his administration would create an enabling and friendly environment that would be attractive to investors.
He equally promised that over 10,000 kilometers of road would be constructed in the state to bridge the rural urban dichotomy, allow farmers access to their farmlands and scale up production.
Mbah re-emphasized his commitment to tackle water scarcity, address environmental issues, build a robust health system that would discourage medical tourism among others.
