Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has formally defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing the inability of his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to recognise and respect the voice of the Enugu people.
In a broadcast to the people of Enugu on Tuesday morning, Governor Mbah announced his resignation from the PDP, ending his decades-long association with the party.
He was joined in the defection by his immediate predecessor, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, as well as several state and federal lawmakers, members of the State Executive Council, and other top political figures. Former Governor Sullivan Chime, a prominent APC leader in the state, was among those present at the event.
Expressing gratitude to the PDP for its past support, Mbah said the time had come to make a decisive move in the interest of his people.
“Today, we have made the decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and join the All Progressives Congress (APC). For nearly three decades, the PDP and the people of Enugu State walked side by side, united by shared purpose,”he stated.
The Governor noted that leadership sometimes required difficult and even painful decisions made in the service of higher principles and goals.
He explained that his defection was not a personal choice but a collective decision taken by members of the National and State Assemblies, State Executive Council, over 80 per cent of party executives, and other appointees.
Mbah lamented that despite the decades of loyalty and support the South-East had given to the PDP, the region’s concerns and voices had often been disregarded.
“For decades, the South-East stood behind the PDP, but our voices were too often disregarded,”he said, adding that his decision to join the APC was to seek a platform where the people’s interests would be better represented and respected.
The Governor praised President Bola Tinubu’s visionary leadership, describing his decision as a move toward a “transformational partnership” with the President.
“We share a vision that transformation must be disruptive,”Mbah said, expressing optimism about aligning Enugu State with Tinubu’s national development agenda.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and members of the APC National Working Committee, led by Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, are expected to formally receive Governor Mbah into the party in a ceremony scheduled later this week.
