With today’s defection of Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) arrangement is said to have been concluded for Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Duoye Diri to do likewise.
Like Mbah, Diri too was elected on the ticket of the PDP and re-elected on the same platform to commence his second and final term in office on 14 February 2024.
Today’s expected defection of Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the beginning of another gale of movement into the ruling party by governors.
In the Bola Tinubu administration, which started almost two-and-a-half years ago, two governors elected on the platform of the PDP had already moved to the APC. First was that of Delta State, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori on 23 April, this year, while his Akwa Ibom State colleague, Pastor Umo Eno did the same on 6 June.
Other governors who had made the same decision while serving as governors are: Dave Umahi (Ebonyi State), Ben Ayade (Cross River State), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara State), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto State), who has since returned to the PDP, Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto State), and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara State).
Mbah is moving to the ruling party with House of Assembly members, councillors, chairmen of councils and others.
On Diri, an official of his administration, told The Nation last night: ‘He will move into the APC in a matter of days’.
Another PDP governor of the Northeast has hinted at his movement to the APC.
‘He is waiting for the final sorting out of details’, one of the governor’s aides said last night.
But Deputy Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Engr. Seyi Makinde, who is Governor of Oyo State, dismissed the defection.
He said the party would not be distracted ahead of its next month’s convention in Ibadan.
Enugu will be aglow today with the presence of Vice President Kashim Shettima, leading a strong delegation including APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; and House of Representatives Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen to present the APC flag to their new member.
Political leaders, traditional rulers and the state chieftains of the pan-Igbo group, Ohanaeze, on Monday, rose in support of Mbah’s defection, hinging the move on the inability of the PDP to manage its achievements in the Southeast.
In a statement, Ohanaeze Vice President, Prof. Fred Eze; and National Treasurer, Dr. Peter Eke said that the defection would not affect the governor’s second-term ambition.
They applauded Mbah ‘for taking the bold step of joining the ruling APC’, adding that ‘this decision is both thoughtful and timely, considering the compelling need to attract more federal government projects to Enugu’.
They also reiterated the group’s commitment to governorship zoning in the spirit of fairness and justice.
They stressed: ‘We remain committed to upholding the long-standing zoning tradition for the office of the governor, in the spirit of equity, fairness, and justice in Enugu State’.
The Chairman of the state Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Samuel Asadu said the governor had earned national respect through his ‘trailblazing performance and grassroots-oriented governance’ in the past 26 months.
He further said: ‘The traditional rulers and people of Enugu State have absolute trust in his judgment.
‘Our support for the governor’s decision is blind to party lines’.
The Chairman of the state chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Hon. Okechukwu Edeh said residents were ready to follow the governor’s political direction.
‘Governor Peter Mbah is the political party Enugu knows today.
‘We believe this is a wise decision, given that our voices no longer count in the other party’, he said.
Former PDP Chairman in the state, Chief Augustine Nnamani said he was not surprised by the mass exit, accusing the PDP of ‘mistreating and betraying the southeast’ by refusing to recognise Udeh-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary.
He said: ‘The PDP chose a few people in Abuja over the southeast.
‘Mbah’s exit is in line with our region’s earlier resolution to leave the party if our choice was not respected’.
With Mbah’s defection, the APC now controls three of the five southeast states, while the remaining two (Abia and Anambra) are held by the Labour Party and the All Progressives Grand Alliance respectively. The PDP, once dominant in the region, now controls none.
