President Bola Tinubu hosted a delegation of political leaders from Enugu State at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja on Tuesday and warned that the country’s democratic system would endure. "Democracy will survive, despite all the intimidation," he told the visitors, urging calm and concentration on long-term goals.
The delegation was led by Governor Peter Mbah, who, according to the statement, assured Tinubu of Enugu State’s support for his re-election in 2027. Tinubu described Mbah as "a member of the progressive family," a characterization the president used as he accepted the pledge.
Tinubu mixed reassurance with parting shots at political rivals, advising a measured response to criticism: "Ignore it, as I advise myself; stay focused. When you are succeeding and they are angry, leave them in their corner." He also accused some politicians of failing the country in the power sector, saying bluntly, "You have leaders who have privatised electricity that is not working. They gave us darkness, as you said, and we are trying to get ourselves through that to build a nation of bright hope and joyful people."
The visit carried concrete promises beyond rhetoric. The accompanying reports said the Enugu delegation expressed support for the administration and discussed security, healthcare, education, infrastructure, railway, and power sector reforms — subjects Tinubu picked up in his remarks about planning and investment.
For weight, Tinubu pointed to a structural problem he believes still hampers Nigeria’s progress: financing. "What has been the problem in the past is a Nigerian that is trying to finance long-term projects with short-term funding," he said, adding, "We have not embarked upon a serious long-term outlook for our country." At the same time he claimed a regional advantage: "When you look at the indices around African growth and economic opportunity today, Nigeria is still leading."
Context for the president’s comments was supplied in the same set of reports: they came amid criticism of opposition politicians and references to past governance decisions in the power sector. Supplementary coverage noted that opposition parties are fragmented and mentioned defections to the ruling APC, a dynamic that frames the political stakes ahead of 2027.
The visit also exposed a tension in Tinubu’s message. He appealed loudly to democratic resilience while singling out rivals for hypocrisy: "But they don’t even believe in the democracy that they preach all about. Don’t pay attention to them because I don’t." That line underlined a gap between public fealty to democratic norms and, in the president’s view, private or practical failures by other leaders — especially on promises such as reliable electricity.
Tinubu returned to the theme of collective responsibility, saying national progress could not be handed to a single office. "It’s not a one-man occasion. It’s a collective effort at the national, sub-national, and local government. Please do more for the local government," he said, pressing the Enugu figures to carry their share of governance work.
For the immediate political calendar, the most tangible outcome was the assurance from Peter Mbah. The governor’s pledge of Enugu State’s backing makes the visit more than a policy exchange: it is, by his own assurance, an early alignment ahead of Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid. "We will do everything to ensure that the Nigerian dream is realised. The hope you enunciated in your remarks is not a pipe dream. It’s real and achievable, and we’ll achieve it together," Tinubu said in closing.
What happens next is straightforward and consequential: Governor Mbah’s public commitment shifts the trip from a routine state visit to a declared piece of re-election politics, and it highlights the work Tinubu says must follow — a long-term funding approach and concrete reforms in sectors such as power. If those promises are not matched by policy shifts or results, the friction Tinubu named between rhetoric and delivery will become the sharper story of 2024 and the run-up to 2027.
