South East governors have been frequenting overseas countries, Abuja, Lagos and other states of the federation since they were elected, raising questions over governance continuity in the region.

In most cases, the governors don’t officially announce these trips before they travel. The people of their states get to know about these trips through some government officials and state of affairs in the states whenever they leave their states.

Nwifuru’s frequent absence raises concern

In Ebonyi State, once Governor Francis Nwifuru travels out of the state, be it abroad, Abuja or any other place in the country, everything will remain at a standstill until he comes back to the state. Civil servants and government officials usually come to work anytime and any day they like and go back home any time they also want.

Nwifuru usually hands over power to his deputy, Mrs. Patricia Obila, each time he travels out of the state. This year, the Governor has made about two trips outside the country while the number of trips to Abuja, the nation’s capital, are numerous.

The most recent trip by the Governor abroad was to Germany, the USA and China; “economic trips” that opposition elements, including Chief Splendor Oko Eze, 2027 governorship candidate of the Labour Party, said was yet to yield any positive results in the state.

“Germany/USA trip (September 2025). Gov. Francis Ogbonnaya Nwifuru travelled to Germany and the United States on a three-week official trip. The purpose was to participate in the Nigeria Governors Forum/UN General Assembly in the USA.

“The delegation was led by VP Kashim Shetima and the aim was to drive direct foreign investment and end food insecurity in Nigeria. These foreign trips have not brought any foreign investment in Ebonyi State nor have they ended the food insecurity in Ebonyi State.

China trip (July 2026). This was a nine-day working visit focused on investment. After the trip, Governor Francis Nwifuru announced that it was fruitful and that the authorities in Hunan and Jiangxi Province expressed interest in partnering with Ebonyi State government to drive development.

“The China trip was meant to establish the Nkalagu Cement factory, valued at N150 billion. The Governor led Chinese contractors/investors to tour the moribund NIGERCEM, Nkalagu, to assess the site for a new state-owned cement plant.

“The 2026 budget has already earmarked N150b for it. Surprisingly, up till this moment, no meaningful achievement has been recorded after signing the MoU between the Ebonyi State government and the Chinese company over the project”, Eze said.

But the state council of elders said Nwifuru’s trip to China was fruitful, contrary to Eze’s claims. Chairman of the council, Chief Ben Okah, told our correspondent that nine Chinese surveyors and geologists are currently in the state for the project

“Last week or early this week, I went to look at the site for the cement factory. And the criticism of somebody is that it’s only one Chinese man that came to the state for the project. It is audio and fake.

“Now, the whole team has arrived, and there are about nine of them, nine professionals. What is going to be his comment now? Is he going to withdraw the comment he made before? So, we as elders, we do not look into such write-ups. They have no meaning for us.

“It’s a very big process. It must follow a proper procedure of engineering. So, the people who are here now are, first of all, the geologists.

“The surveyors are here and the geologists are here. And their job is for two months. They will be here for two to three months before the actual installation will start.

“But, already, the documents are being manufactured, you know, after the end of two or three months before the development will start. So, that is the procedure,” Okah said.

Mbah’s foreign trips raise questions about physical presence

In Enugu, Governor Peter Mbah has undertaken a series of trips outside the state in the past year for international investment, politics and other engagements, raising questions about his physical presence in the state and continuity of governance whenever he is away.

Available records reviewed by Daily Sun show that Mbah spent at least about 11 days outside Enugu on documented official engagements within the period.

The actual figure, however, could be higher, as there were other trips abroad and movements outside the state that were not sufficiently documented publicly to establish their duration.

The documented trips included engagements in London, Lagos and Abuja, among others. On April 7 and 8, 2025, Mbah was in London for the Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit, where he participated in a State Governors Roundtable on unlocking investment opportunities in Enugu and Nigeria as a whole.

At the summit, the governor marketed Enugu to international investors and spoke on Africa’s economic development, urging the continent to take advantage of intra-African trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.

“Africa should be building the table – and not waiting to be invited to the table,” he was quoted as saying. Mbah was again in London in March 2026 as part of President Bola Tinubu’s entourage during the President’s UK state visit.

At the House of Lords, he presented investment opportunities in Enugu under the UK-Nigeria Project Agglomeration Compact, telling prospective investors that they could expect between 25 and 40 per cent returns on investments in the state.

He highlighted opportunities in tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure. There is little doubt that such engagements can be useful to the state, particularly where they help attract investors, open up partnerships or strengthen Enugu’s relationship with the Federal Government and international institutions.

But the governor’s frequent movements outside Enugu have also raised questions about how the state is administered while he is away. Of particular interest is the issue of executive authority. No instance of a formal transfer of executive authority to Deputy Governor Ifeanyi Ossai was identified in the publicly available records reviewed for this report during any of Mbah’s documented trips.

That does not mean that the state government stopped functioning whenever the governor travelled. Neither does the absence of a publicly reported handover conclusively establish that no internal arrangements were made.

However, it raises questions about how executive continuity is handled and communicated to the public when the governor is outside the state. The deputy governor has, in fact, continued to represent Mbah at official engagements.

In February 2026, for instance, Ossai represented the governor at a South-East zonal tax sensitization programme in Enugu. But representing the governor at an event is not the same as a formal transfer of executive authority.

That distinction is important, particularly when the governor is away from the state for engagements lasting several days. Mbah’s travels have not been limited to investment and development-related engagements.

In January 2026, he was in Lagos to receive The Sun Man of the Year Award 2025 for his administration’s governance and development efforts in Enugu.

In April 2026, he led a high-powered Enugu delegation to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where political leaders from the state pledged support for President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election.

At the meeting, Mbah told Tinubu that Enugu would “stand proudly” with him in 2027, while expressing appreciation for the Federal Government’s support for the South-East.

The Abuja trip also brings into focus the political dimension of some of the governor’s engagements outside the state.

For supporters of the administration, Mbah’s travels may be seen as part of the demands of modern governance. They could point to his efforts to attract investment, engage Federal Government officials and promote Enugu beyond the state’s borders.

ritics, however, may ask whether the frequency of the trips and the time spent outside the state are justified by tangible outcomes for residents.

Another issue is the absence of a complete, publicly accessible record of the governor’s travels. While some of his trips were widely reported by government and media platforms, other movements, particularly some international trips, were not sufficiently documented to determine exactly when he left, when he returned or the purpose and duration of the engagement.

That makes it difficult for citizens to establish the governor’s complete travel schedule or independently calculate the total number of days he has spent outside Enugu. A publicly available record of official travels could address some of these concerns.

Such a record could indicate where the governor travelled, the purpose of each trip, the duration and, where applicable, the specific outcomes or commitments secured for the state.

The issue, therefore, is not whether Mbah should travel. As governor, he is expected to engage investors, the Federal Government, development partners, diplomatic institutions and other stakeholders beyond Enugu.

The bigger questions are whether the trips are producing measurable benefits for the state, whether they are properly documented and whether there is a clear system for maintaining effective executive administration whenever he is away.

For a state pursuing an ambitious development agenda, citizens would expect government to remain responsive regardless of the governor’s location.

Ultimately, the debate is not simply about how often Mbah travels, but what Enugu gains from each journey and how effectively the affairs of the state are managed in his absence.

Uzodimma faces backlash over skeletal visit to Imo

In Imo, Governor Hope Uzodimma is facing renewed criticism over what residents and opposition groups describe as his frequent absence from the state capital, with many accusing him of running Imo largely from Abuja.

Critics say the governor spends a large portion of his time in Abuja attending national political events and federal engagements. They argue this has created a leadership gap at the grassroots level in Imo.

Civil society groups and residents say physical presence is important for assessing community needs, security challenges and the state of infrastructure across local government areas.

The debate intensified after Governor Uzodimma directed local government chairmen to live in their domains or resign. Opponents seized on the directive to question the governor’s own frequent absence from Douglas House in Owerri.

The administration has rejected the criticism, calling it politically motivated and aimed at undermining its record.

Spokespersons and the information commissioner maintain that governance in Imo remains active. They point to ongoing infrastructure projects, regular payment of salaries to workers and administrative oversight as evidence that government functions continue regardless of the governor’s travel schedule.

As pressure mounts ahead of key state engagements, the question of where the governor governs from is likely to remain a talking point between the administration and its critics in the coming weeks.

His Chief Press Secretary, Oguwuike Nwachukwu, said he does not care how they brand his boss as long as his trips are yielding the right dividends of democracy to the people.

He mentioned the flyover at the Asumpta Cathedral, Control Post, roads stretching from Okigwe to Orlu and down to Mbaise road as legacies his predecessors can never match.

Reasons can also be attributed to the governor’s frequent travels especially as he is saddled with political positions such as the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors forum. This position has entailed him to visit structures of the party for elections.

The Governor has been named Abuja-based Governor by his critics but there are no official documented record of how many days he has spent outside of the state in his frequent trips to Abuja for meetings/assignments on behalf of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), or for the Council of State meetings, which requires the state governors to be in attendance.

The longest time governor Uzodimma has been in the state without any trip out of the State was in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic as the airports were shut down and movements restricted as one of the ways of containing the pandemic from spreading.

However, in August 2021, Governor Uzodimma spent 28-days outside the state before returning to receive then President Muhammadu Buhari, who was visiting the state.

On April 24, 2021, Uzodimma spent six days outside the state and returned after the attack on his country home, Omuma, in Oru East. In May 2021, the Imo State governor attended the May I, Workers’ Day celebration and left for Abuja immediately.

Since his re-election in 2023, when he was elected the chairman of All Progressives Congress Governors’ Forum and the Director-General of Renewed Hope Agenda, he has been frequently out of the state on party assignments.

His Deputy, Lady Chinyere Ekomaru, has always represented him at state functions whenever he traveled out of the state.

Otti’s trips cause mixed reactions

In Abia State, Governor Alex Otti has not also been saved the sledge hammer of the opposition in the area of ‘truancy’ from office.

The opposition in Abia has variously accused Governor Otti of anything but absenteeism. The All Progressives Congress (APC) has at every point in time accused the governor of multiple misdemeanors, but the party never for once found Otti guilty of globetrotting.

In the same vein, Major General Ijioma Nwokoro Ijioma (rtd), the Abia State Governorship candidate of Action People’s Party (APP), accused Governor Otti of not having done very well in office, he also did not find him guilty of governing Abia from Abuja.

His Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Dr. Kelechi Anosike, recently descended heavily on the governor; he accused the Governor of junketing from Abia to Abuja as is the case with some Governors.

An aide of Governor Otti who did not want his name in print because he was not permitted to speak to the press for the Governor, said Otti, before entering politics, was a banking guru and he came into office with that mindset, always staying around his office, contrary to the allegations against him by the opposition that he frequently travels out of the state.

“You know the Governor was an astute banker and he came into office with that mindset. He hardly leaves the state, except when it is strictly inevitable, and he doesn’t waste valuable time outside whenever he travels; he ensures he comes back on time to face the challenges of governance at home,” he said.

The aide said Governor Otti does not believe in governing Abia from outside the state, hence, he is always around to conduct the affairs of the state.

“The Governor has always been around, conducting the affairs of the state. For instance, he has always been around to preside over the weekly Exco meeting. For once or twice, the Exco meeting could not hold this year, it was not because the Governor traveled outside the state. It was as a result of other pressing official matters he was handling within the state”.

Buttressing his point, the aide said, if Governor Otti had been junketing around the globe or frequenting Abuja as some other Governors do, the opposition in the state who have been looking for the slightest opportunity to criticize his administration could have mounted a serious campaign against him on that.

“You know the opposition in the state have been looking for the slightest opportunity to criticize the Governor. If Governor Otti had been among the league of governors that hardly stay in their states, the opposition would have mounted a serious campaign against him on that.

“But all this while the opposition have been criticizing him, none of them has accused him of traveling round the globe or making Abuja his second state,” he added.

Early part of last week, Governor Otti traveled to the United States of America on official assignment, but before one could say Jack, he was back in the state and presided over the state Exco by Monday.

Soludo’s frequent trips draw fresh scrutiny

Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State is facing renewed criticism over the frequency of his local and foreign trips, with critics questioning how often the state’s chief executive is away from Awka.

The governor has undertaken several high-profile foreign engagements in recent months. In April, he hosted a diaspora town hall meeting in Colindale, London, intended to showcase his administration’s Solution Agenda to Anambra indigenes abroad.

The event was disrupted when a delegation from the UK chapter of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) confronted Soludo over the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, accusing him of prioritising foreign engagements over security concerns at home. In July, Soludo marked his 66th birthday while still in the United Kingdom, choosing to spend the day at a gym rather than return home for the occasion.

Political opponents have seized on the pattern. Chidi Obidike, a chieftain of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), accused the governor of running what he called a Dubai Taiwan campaign built more on international reputation than local delivery, arguing that states with far younger administrations had attracted more foreign direct investment than Anambra despite Soludo’s extensive global networks from his years at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The criticism has taken on added irony in recent weeks. In March, Soludo carried out a surprise inspection of the state secretariat in Awka and threatened to suspend any civil servant not at their desk by 10am, describing widespread absenteeism as unacceptable and warning that the state could not afford an inefficient workforce. Critics have since asked whether the same standard of accountability should apply to the governor’s own frequent absences from the state. (The Sun)