Peter Mbah (CREDIT: @PNMbah)

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has revealed that he and other members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) because of the PDP’s alleged marginalization of the South-east region.

Mr Mbah made this known during a state-wide broadcast from the Enugu Government House on Tuesday, where he formally announced his defection alongside top political figures in the state.

Those who defected with him include all political appointees, the 17 local government chairpersons, councillors, members of the State House of Assembly, and over 80 percent of the PDP executive members in Enugu.

“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,” Mr Mbah said.

He added that joining the APC was necessary to ensure that the region’s interests are better represented at the federal level.

“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,” the governor added.

Mr Mbah’s defection follows months of internal crisis within the PDP, particularly the battle over the national secretary position between Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Udeh-Okoye, which deepened divisions within the party’s South-east leadership.

The defection also reduces the PDP’s control to just nine states — Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, and Zamfara — while expanding the APC’s dominance to 24 states nationwide.

The move effectively erases the PDP’s footprint in the South-east, a region that had been its stronghold since 1999, with Enugu joining Ebonyi and Imo under APC control. Anambra and Abia remain governed by APGA and the Labour Party, respectively.

Describing the defection as a “difficult but necessary decision,” Mr Mbah said leadership often requires courage to pursue higher principles.

“We are not moving out of resentment or fear. We are confident about our future. But fairness, respect, and integrity must guide our choices,” he said.

Mr Mbah was elected governor in 2023 under the PDP platform but had faced increasing pressure over the party’s handling of South-east affairs and its failure to ratify the region’s preferred candidate for national secretary.