Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah yesterday defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in a move that has redrawn Nigeria’s political map.
Mbah led the entire political structure of the state, including National and State Assembly members, local council chairmen, councillors and appointees, into the APC, sealing the end of the PDP’s 26-year dominance in Enugu.
His defection, being the last PDP governor in the South-East, boosts the APC’s recruitment drive for influential leaders and tilts the balance of power further in favour of the ruling party.
Before Mbah’s move, the major opposition PDP controlled 13 states, while the APC held sway in 23. Following yesterday’s switch in Enugu, the APC now leads with a ratio of 24 to 10, widening its dominance over the former ruling party.
Mbah filled out the APC’s membership form and received his card from the national leadership in a ceremony that drew top government figures to Michael Okpara Square in Enugu.
The rally, which filled the 30,000-capacity venue, marked the symbolic conclusion of Mbah’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling party.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who led the delegation, said Mbah’s entry into the APC had “removed the South-East from the margin of Nigerian politics” and assured the region of greater inclusion in federal development plans.
He praised the Igbo people as one of the “most economically enterprising, educationally ambitious and vibrant tribes in Africa,” lamenting that the region had “lagged behind in national affairs” in the past decade.
“Now with the coming of Governor Peter Mbah; with the continuous energy being exhibited by Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State, I believe the Ndigbo have come to the mainstream of Nigerian politics,” he said.
Shettima described President Bola Tinubu as “a man for all seasons” who would ensure that the South-East’s interests were advanced. Turning to Mbah, he quipped: “I believe you had a broom hidden in your umbrella all these years, waiting for the right moment to bring it out.”
The APC has a broom as its symbol while the PDP features an umbrella. Shettima assured Mbah that he would be treated fairly in the party, affirming his position as APC leader in Enugu State. “From the 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,” he said.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio said Mbah’s movement to the APC would bring more development to the South-East, noting that “the entire Southeast senators have turned to the APC.” He added humorously that Enugu “is even more beautiful than Abuja,” praising the state’s infrastructure and potential.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, also pledged equal treatment for Mbah, stressing that “no party can give you the platform to achieve all you want for your people better than the APC.”
Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, described Mbah’s decision as “bold and wise,” saying it had further strengthened Igbo reintegration into national politics.
APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, commended Mbah’s record in office, declaring that the governor had “taken the people from Egypt to the Promised Land.”
“Today we are seeing the new Enugu State. The PDP cannot house the kind of progressive mind that you have,” he said. The rally was attended by 12 sitting governors; former governors, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Sullivan Chime, and Rochas Okorocha, as well as senators Adams Oshiomhole, Ned Nwoko, Orji Uzor Kalu, Opeyemi Bamidele, and Osita Ngwu, among others.
Gov. Mbah described his defection as a “collective decision” by the political family in Enugu, including all 17 local council chairmen, 260 councillors, 24 members of the state House of Assembly, National Assembly members, and over 80 per cent of PDP executives. – The Guardian.
