ENUGU’S WATER TRAGEDY: HOW GOVERNOR PETER MBAH TURNED A BOLD PROMISE INTO A DEADLY SCAM

In the dead of night at CIC Enugu, a young boy plunged into a deep, uncovered well while desperately searching for water. No taps. No boreholes with safe yield. Just darkness, risk, and the daily humiliation of water scarcity in a state that claims progress. This is not an isolated accident — it is the direct result of criminal negligence and broken governance under Governor Peter Mbah.

Mbah stormed into office in 2023 with a loud, chest-thumping promise: pipe-borne water in every home in Enugu within 180 days. He even bet his reputation on it. Nearly three years later, the taps remain dry for the vast majority of residents. Tankers, sachet water for bathing, dried-up wells, and tragic falls like the one at CIC define daily life. Mbah’s government has turned water into a lethal cash cow while residents pay with their health, time, and — too often — their children’s lives.

Mbah and his handlers commissioned flashy schemes at 9th Mile and Oji River, claiming 120 million litres capacity. They declared victory on the 180th day. But the reality on the ground exposes the fraud: production claims do not equal distribution. Most neighborhoods still wake up to empty pipes. Old asbestos lines burst under pressure. Power outages cripple operations. And the reticulation that actually delivers water to homes remains largely undone.

This is classic Enugu style: budgeted ≠ released ≠ spent ≠ delivered. Under Mbah, the deception has reached new heights. Between 2023 and 2026, the state budgeted around ₦70–86 billion for water resources. Performance? Abysmal:

- 2024: Only 12.3% of capital expenditure spent.
- 2025: A shocking 3.8% performance in the first nine months.
- Billions allocated for ductile iron pipes and network expansion sit mostly on paper while residents queue at dangerous wells.

Where did the money go? That is the question every Enugu resident must ask. Billions in state budgets plus donor funds — World Bank, AFD, EU/WaterAid grants and loans totaling hundreds of millions of dollars over the years — have vanished into the usual black hole of “rehabilitation,” “technical assistance,” and ghost projects.

Enugu’s core schemes (Ajali, Oji River, Iva Valley, Ekulu, Nsukka) are relics from the Michael Okpara era. They worked in the 90s. Topography was never the barrier then, and it is not the barrier now. Geological challenges and electricity dependency existed when previous administrations delivered better results with far less revenue.

Mbah’s administration inherited these problems and amplified them with hype. They boast upstream generation increases while downstream — the pipes to people’s homes — fails spectacularly. Erratic power, massive leaks, illegal connections, and poor maintenance persist. Yet the governor offers excuses instead of results. Residents pay exorbitant sums for tanker water while billions budgeted for sustainable solutions evaporate.

This is not incompetence alone. It is systemic looting disguised as governance. The pattern is too consistent: huge allocations, photo-op flag-offs, press releases claiming transformation, and zero transformation in people’s daily lives. Peter Mbah promised to end the crisis. Instead, he has institutionalized it.

The boy at CIC Enugu is a victim of this grand deception. Families buy sachet water to bathe. Students miss school or risk their lives fetching water. Contaminated sources breed disease. The economic drain — time wasted, health costs, lost productivity — is enormous. All while the government celebrates “improved IGR” and flashy infrastructure in other sectors.

The people of Enugu are tired of being lied to. The tragedy at CIC is a bloody wake-up call. Water is not a campaign gimmick — it is life. If Mbah cannot deliver …