In a move that has sparked outrage and suspicion, Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah has earmarked a staggering ₦1 billion in the 2026 budget for a cluster of agricultural projects exclusively in Owo, his home community in Nkanu East Local Government Area. The announcement comes amid the state’s failure to publish its 2024 audited financial statements, leaving critics questioning the integrity of the spending.
The budget document, obtained by SaharaReporters, details plans for “200 units of earthen catfish ponds, 100 units of tarpaulin ponds, and 100 units of greenhouse vegetable crop integrated farm clusters” in Owo. Observers warn that concentrating such a massive investment in the governor’s hometown reeks of favoritism and potential conflict of interest, especially in the absence of independent financial oversight.
While the administration paints the allocation as part of sweeping agricultural interventions for 2026, skeptics highlight glaring contradictions. The state also proposes ₦49 billion for new farm estates across Enugu, yet abandoned estates in Adani, Ete, and Aguibeje remain neglected—a striking example of squandered resources.
The drama does not end there. The budget sets aside ₦27 billion for three Special Agricultural Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), ₦7 billion for tractors and farm machinery, and ₦2 billion for agro-inputs to launch the 2026 wet farming season. The government also plans a local tractor assembly plant in partnership with Danish firm ODK Group/Nortra Tractors, aiming to produce 800 units after delivering 100 tractors last year.
Beyond agriculture, ₦9 billion has been allocated for a state-wide CCTV surveillance network, and an additional ₦10 billion earmarked for unspecified “intervention programs”—leaving the public to wonder where the money will actually go.
Civil society organizations and public finance analysts have condemned the continued secrecy around the 2024 audit. They insist that without verified accounts of past spending, the governor’s hometown windfall raises serious questions about equity, governance, and accountability.
As of now, the Enugu State government has offered no explanation for the missing audited accounts, nor for why Owo has been chosen as the epicenter of a billion-naira agricultural boom.
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