Barring any last-minute change of plans, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State is on the verge of defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), PREMIUM TIMES has reported.
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According to multiple sources close to the governor, Mbah has in recent weeks held extensive consultations with political associates and leaders both within and outside Enugu to fine-tune his decision.
Two former governors of Enugu, Chimaroke Nnamani and Sullivan Chime, as well as former Senate President Ken Nnamani, all now APC members or supporters, are said to have played crucial roles in persuading him to join the ruling party.
One of his close associates disclosed that the rounds of consultation would end this week, after which the governor and his inner circle are expected to announce a date for his formal defection.
Mbah’s imminent departure represents another setback for the PDP, which has governed Enugu since 1999 but is now grappling with internal crises nationwide. His planned exit comes barely three months after Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno and four months after Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori also dumped the party for the APC.
A PDP chieftain involved in the consultations said Mbah cited two main reasons for his move. First, the lingering strife within the PDP’s national leadership, which he reportedly described as a grave threat to the ambitions of anyone contesting on the platform in 2027. Second, he expressed frustration over what he considers the marginalisation of the Southeast in the party’s leadership structure.
On June 30, Mbah had threatened to lead the PDP’s Southeast zone out of the party after Abuja insisted on retaining Samuel Anyanwu as national secretary instead of Sunday Udeh-Okoye, the preferred candidate of the zone. His warning was ignored, and Anyanwu, a key ally of former Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike, has since been reinstated.
Still aggrieved, the governor is said to be finalising arrangements to cross over to the APC.
When contacted on Thursday, Mbah’s spokesperson, Uche Anichukwu, admitted that the governor had recently engaged in wide-ranging political consultations but said he was not aware of any final decision to quit the PDP.
However, PREMIUM TIMES’ sources, all close associates of Mbah, insist they are “100 per cent certain” that the defection will happen in a matter of weeks, if not days.
Mbah, 53, a lawyer, businessman, and politician, was elected governor of Enugu in 2023. He previously served as Chief of Staff to Governor Chimaroke Nnamani in 2003 and later as Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development.
In his two years in office, his administration has been credited with strides in security management, fiscal discipline, innovative governance, infrastructure development, and human capital investment.
If Mbah defects as planned, the PDP’s control will further reduce to just nine states: Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, and Zamfara. Of these, Rivers is already under the heavy influence of the APC through Wike, a PDP stalwart serving in President Bola Tinubu’s government.
For the APC, Mbah’s move would expand its control to 24 states, including Enugu, while three states will remain under other opposition parties: Abia (Labour Party), Anambra (All Progressives Grand Alliance), and Kano (New Nigeria Peoples Party).
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