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From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
In what has been described as the most sweeping political realignment in Enugu’s history, Governor Peter Mbah on October 14, 2025, formally defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), taking along his entire cabinet, state lawmakers, council chairmen, councillors, political appointees, and over 80 per cent of PDP executives in the state.
The governor made the bombshell announcement during a press conference earlier in the day at the Government House, Enugu. It was the culmination of weeks of speculation, late-night meetings, and hushed whispers across political corridors in the Coal City.
Mbah, whose 28 months in office have seen massive infrastructural expansion and bold governance reforms, described his defection as a “bold but necessary step” to align Enugu’s vision of transformation with the national reform agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Today, I stand before you to announce a break from the past, and to share a decision that will shape the road ahead. This concerns our values, how we organise ourselves politically, and how we secure the future of our projects and our people,” he said.
The governor, calm but firm, said his decision followed deep reflection and wide consultations across the state and beyond.
“To the Peoples Democratic Party, which provided the platform on which we campaigned and won, I extend deep gratitude. The PDP supported us through a demanding campaign and joined in celebrating the victory. Yet, leadership sometimes demands difficult—even painful—decisions in the service of higher principles and goals.
“And there always comes a time when everyone must make a bold choice to determine their destiny. Today, after long reflection, we have made the decision to leave the PDP and join the All Progressives Congress,” he declared.
Mbah emphasised that his defection was not a solo adventure, but a collective movement involving virtually all arms of government and party leadership in Enugu State.
“This is no whimsical decision. It’s a collective move by the political family in Enugu State, comprising members of the National Assembly, members of the State House of Assembly, the State Executive Council, all the Local Government Chairmen and Councillors, all political appointees and over 80 per cent of party executives,” he said.
He lamented that despite the South East’s unwavering loyalty to the PDP for decades, the region had not always been fairly represented when it mattered most.
“For decades, the South East – especially Enugu – has stood firmly behind the PDP, showing loyalty that shaped the party’s success. Yet despite this history, our voices were too often disregarded when it mattered most,” Mbah said. “It has therefore become necessary to seek affiliation where our interests as a region are represented in the form of fair partnership.”
The governor heaped praises on President Tinubu, describing him as a visionary leader who shares his passion for transformational governance.
“I have found in His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, not just a leader of our nation, but a partner in purpose, a man with the courage to look beyond today and make the tough choices that secure lasting prosperity for tomorrow.
“Together, we share a conviction that transformation must be bold and disruptive—that roads, railways, and airlines must stretch out from the heart of the South East; that Enugu’s promise, its security, its schools, its hospitals, its markets, its communities—must be reinforced,” he said.
Mbah listed his administration’s achievements with pride. “It looks like Smart Green Schools nearing completion and primary healthcare centres in all 260 wards. It looks like crime down by 80 per cent; maternal, under-5 and infant mortality rates reduced by 400 per cent. It looks like water flowing again through new mains and restored supply. It looks like over 1,000 kilometres of paved roads.”
He assured Enugu residents that the party switch would not affect ongoing projects or derail his developmental agenda.
“Let me be clear: I will represent our state and our region with the same strength of purpose as I have always done. Our Igbo DNA does not change; our destiny does not change. What changes is that our vision now finds stronger reinforcement at the federal level,” he assured.
Hours later, the Enugu skyline buzzed with excitement as Okpara Square erupted into a sea of brooms, music, and political fanfare. It was a carnival-like scene as Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum Hope Uzodimma, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, and other top APC figures stormed the Coal City to welcome Mbah and his political structure into the ruling party.
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Representing President Tinubu at the rally, Vice President Shettima hailed the defection as a defining moment for Ndigbo and Nigeria.
“Today is a great day in our great nation; indeed, a great day in Ndigbo,” Shettima said. “Ali Mazrui, the great Kenyan writer, once described the Igbo as the Nigerian Jews—geographically mobile, economically enterprising and educationally ambitious. Sadly, in the last 10 to 12 years, Ndigbo, one of the most vibrant tribes in Africa, have been at the margins of Nigerian politics.
“Now with the coming of Governor Peter Mbah, with the continuous energy of Governor Hope Uzodimma and Governor Francis Nwifuru, I believe the Ndigbo have come back to the mainstream of Nigerian politics.”
Turning to Mbah, he added: “You are already one of us. You’re a progressive through and through. I believe you had a broom hidden in your umbrella for all these years, waiting for the right moment to bring it out.”
The Vice President then formally declared Mbah the leader of APC in Enugu State: “From our convention and constitution, the governor is the leader of the party in his state. Your Excellency, you are now the leader of the APC family in Enugu State.”
Senate President Godswill Akpabio described Mbah’s move as the beginning of a new chapter of prosperity.
“This is a journey that will bring more development. This is a journey that will bring more progress. The entire Senate is here. Your principal officer, Osita Ngwu, was the only PDP Senator in the whole of the South East. He told me he was going with the governor wherever he was going because he is performing.”
Governor Hope Uzodimma, visibly delighted, hailed the defection as a step toward greater regional unity.
“Earlier this morning, the governor addressed the world and informed us of his decision to join the All Progressives Congress. We, in the South East, are very excited and very happy,” Uzodimma said.
“On behalf of the Progressives Governors Forum, I congratulate our dear brother and friend, Peter Mbah, for taking the wise decision to join the APC to strengthen the excellent work our dear President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is doing in Nigeria.”
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu was no less expressive: “The Vice President is here to welcome your governor to the APC in the name of the President. Since tomorrow is here, it is good for tomorrow to join APC. You know that the whole South East has agreed to move to APC. We are all here to honour your governor.”
APC National Chairman, Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda, rounded off the ceremony with poetic flair: “Enugu State is welcome to APC. Governor Peter Mbah, thank you for taking this right decision. You took your people from Egypt to the Promised Land, from depression to progress.
“The PDP cannot house the kind of progressive mind that you have. As I was coming, I saw the roads, the water, the electricity, the schools — you have touched virtually all sectors.”
He added, “On behalf of the National Working Committee and millions of APC members, I welcome you to this family. I welcome you to progress. I welcome you to success.”
For months, whispers had grown louder that Governor Mbah was on his way out of the PDP. His repeated engagements with federal authorities, cordial relationship with President Tinubu, and conspicuous absence from key PDP events in the South East had all fuelled speculation.
Some insiders say the final push came after deep dissatisfaction with internal wrangling in the PDP and the governor’s desire to ensure that Enugu remained in federal good books for development benefits.
A top aide confided that “the handwriting had been on the wall for months. The governor wanted Enugu to be in the mainstream. He’s focused on results, not sentiment.”
Now, with Mbah’s defection and the wholesale migration of Enugu’s political establishment to the APC, the PDP’s decades-long dominance appears shattered. For the South East, the political chessboard has been redrawn.
