Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has called for a quantum leap and the declaration of a national emergency in Nigeria’s education sector to guarantee the nation’s development and future prosperity.
 
Mbah argued that the audacity to fund a quantum leap in the nation’s education sector would flow from an appreciation of its necessity.
 
This was as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), British Council, and other global and national education stakeholders have hailed the governor for making education the centrepiece of his administration’s development agenda.
 
The governor made the call in his keynote address at the 2026 Enugu Education Summit and the unveiling of the Enugu Education Policy at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, yesterday.
 
Speaking at the summit, themed “Transforming Education for the Future: Leadership, Innovation, Partnership, Financing and Sustainable Reform,” he said Nigeria had reached the point where education must be treated as a national emergency.
 
He further argued that no nation could truly eradicate poverty or achieve sustainable development without addressing the root causes of poverty, including lack of knowledge, know-how and the capabilities through which people create wealth, find employment, build enterprises, participate intelligently in society and determine the direction of their own lives.

Meanwhile, Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, yesterday approved the appointment of 690 administrators, secretaries and members to fill existing vacancies across 68 development centres in the 17 local council areas of the state. Each of the development centres got 10 appointees.
 
The appointments, the third in less than three months, were contained in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia.
 
On September 21, Mbah had approved the appointment of 118 Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, and Special Assistants, in addition to 23 Special Advisers and Senior Special Assistants on August 19, 2026.
 
The governor had also, on September 4, approved the appointment of 31 people into key state institutions.

According to Onyia, the appointments are part of the administration’s efforts to strengthen grassroots participation in governance and decision-making, promote inclusivity and broad-based representation, and deepen the reach of government at the local level.