Prominent Enugu businessman and community leader, Chief Simon Eze from Akpugo in Nkanu West Local Government Area, has commended Governor Peter Mbah for what he described as a compassionate, responsible and decisive response to the off-campus sign-out party tragedy that claimed the lives of four students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
Chief Eze, who is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Seamark Electric Plc and Golden Tree Hotel, Satellite Town, Lagos, said the Governor’s prompt mourning of the victims, suspension of his scheduled town hall meeting, and order for a thorough investigation showed uncommon respect for the sanctity of life and leadership with a human face.
Governor Mbah had on Thursday expressed deep grief over the death of the four students and the hospitalisation of six others following the off-campus sign-out party, describing the incident as a grievous loss not only to their families and UNN, but to Enugu State as a whole.
“I received with rude shock and deep sense of loss the news of the off-campus sign-out party leading to the death of four students of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, and hospitalisation of six others,” the Governor said in a statement issued by his media aide, Mazi Uche Anichukwu.
“This is a grievous loss not only to the immediate families of the deceased and the university, but also to us as a state. Losing them in their prime and along with their promising future cuts as deeply as a sharp knife.”
Mbah also announced the suspension of his scheduled town hall meeting with the UNN community on Friday, November 13, 2026, as the state joins the university in mourning the dead, and ordered a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths in collaboration with university authorities and security agencies.
The Governor further vowed to work with authorities of tertiary institutions to enforce a full ban on sign-out parties and other excessive celebrations, which he said had brought more sorrows than joy to families and institutions, while calling for more enlightenment campaigns on the consequences of drug use and abuse.
Reacting to the Governor’s stance, Chief Eze said Mbah had not only identified with the bereaved families in their moment of pain but had also taken concrete steps to prevent a recurrence.
According to him, by suspending a major official engagement, ordering a probe, and moving to ban the sign-out menace, the Governor demonstrated that every life in Enugu State matters and that government must act, not just sympathise, when tragedy strikes.
He urged parents, students, university authorities and security agencies to support the Governor’s proposed ban and intensify sensitisation against reckless celebrations and drug abuse, noting that no celebration is worth the life of a young Nigerian with a promising future.
Chief Eze also prayed for the peaceful repose of the souls of the deceased and for God to grant their families, friends and the UNN community the strength to bear the heartbreaking loss.
