The latest political appointments by the Enugu State Government have raised an important question that deserves a straightforward answer: why now?
Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah has approved the appointment of 101 persons as Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants, according to a public service announcement signed by the Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, on September 21, 2026. The appointments comprise seven Special Advisers, six Senior Special Assistants and 88 Special Assistants, and take immediate effect.
The portfolios are remarkably broad, covering grassroots coordination, stakeholder relations, inter-party affairs, voter awareness, political mobilisation, youth engagement, women mobilisation, community development, media relations, environmental management, rural development and several other areas.
That breadth is precisely why questions are legitimate.
If these areas are important enough to require 101 fresh appointments today, why were many of these functions not given comparable attention much earlier in the administration?
This is not necessarily an argument against the competence or suitability of the individuals appointed. It is an argument about timing, priorities and public accountability.
Why the timing matters
Nigeria is already moving into the 2027 electoral cycle. INEC’s published timetable schedules the Presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, followed by the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections on February 6, 2027.
Against that background, the sudden appointment of 101 political aides naturally invites public scrutiny.
Indeed, several of the newly announced portfolios have an unmistakably political or community-mobilisation dimension — including Inter-Party and Mobilisation, Party Monitoring, Civic Education and Voter Awareness, Political and Grassroots Mobilisation, Youth Mobilisation, Women Mobilisation, Stakeholders Engagement, Contact and Mobilisation, Grassroots Mobilisation and Political Liaison.
That does not by itself establish the governor’s motive.
But it does make the timing a legitimate subject for public discussion.
The question of stakeholders
For years, citizens, community leaders, youths, professionals, town unions and political stakeholders have expected government to maintain meaningful engagement with the grassroots.
Now, in one announcement, the administration has created numerous positions specifically dealing with stakeholder relations, community affairs, grassroots coordination, town unions, youth engagement, women mobilisation and public participation.
The question therefore is simple:
Why did it take until this late stage of the administration for such extensive stakeholder structures to emerge?
If these engagements are essential to effective governance, shouldn’t they have been strengthened from the beginning?
And if they are primarily designed to improve political communication and mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections, shouldn’t the government be transparent about the distinction between governance appointments and political mobilisation?
101 appointments — but what will they deliver?
There is another issue that deserves attention: performance.
An appointment is not an achievement.
A title is not a project.
And the creation of an office does not automatically translate into better roads, stronger healthcare, employment, education, security or economic opportunities.
The people of Enugu should therefore ask what measurable responsibilities each appointee will carry.
What are their targets?
How will their performance be evaluated?
What will they deliver within six months?
How much will the additional appointments cost the state?
What reporting mechanisms will exist?
And, most importantly, will these appointments produce tangible improvements in the lives of ordinary citizens?
These are legitimate questions in any democracy.
The August appointments also raise questions
The latest appointments did not come in isolation. In August 2026, Governor Mbah also approved another round of 23 appointments involving Special Advisers and Senior Special Assistants.
That means the public is entitled to ask whether Enugu is witnessing a deliberate restructuring of government ahead of the next electoral cycle, an expansion of administrative capacity, or a combination of both.
Only the government can provide the definitive explanation.
Governor Mbah has the constitutional and administrative authority to make appointments within the framework of the law.
The issue, therefore, is not simply whether he can appoint 101 people.
The bigger question is why these appointments are being made now, what problem each office is expected to solve, and how the people of Enugu will benefit from them.
If the appointments are purely about improving governance, the administration should demonstrate that through measurable results.
If they are intended to strengthen grassroots engagement, the people should see that engagement beyond political seasons.
And if the objective includes preparing the administration’s political structure for the approaching elections, that reality should not prevent citizens from demanding accountability.
The Masses believes government should not be judged merely by the number of appointments it makes, but by the quality of governance those appointments produce.
Four months before the first major 2027 election, the timing of 101 new appointments will inevitably attract attention.
That is not an accusation.
It is democracy.
And the people of Enugu have every right to ask:
Why now?
What exactly are these 101 appointees expected to accomplish?
How much will the appointments cost taxpayers?
What measurable results should citizens expect from them?
And why were these stakeholder, grassroots and mobilisation structures not given the same urgency earlier in the administration?
The answers should come from the government — not from speculation.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei.
