The recent political maneuver by Governor Peter Mbah, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), has been framed as a clear indication of the PDP’s terminal decline in the South-East zone.
Mr. Osita Okechukwu, the former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), articulated this view on Sunday in Enugu. He believes Mbah’s action represents a definitive political moment.
Okechukwu characterized the defection as a pragmatic, rational, and inevitable decision. He noted it symbolizes the total collapse of the PDP’s dominance in the region. He highlighted the dramatic shift: the PDP has moved from controlling all five state governments in the zone in 1999 to holding zero governorships in 2025.
He recalled the timeless lamentation of the late Dr Chuba Okadigbo, who once warned that the PDP “pays good deeds with bad coins”, adding that Mbah’s exit vindicated that lamentation.
Okechukwu criticised the PDP’s “utter disregard” for equity and justice, especially in 2023, when the party breached the Fourth Republic’s long-standing national zoning convention.
“The last straw that broke the PDP’s camel’s back,” Okechukwu noted, “was the deliberate marginalisation of the South-East during the controversy over the National Secretary position.”
He alleged that the PDP’s serial betrayal, neglect and abuse of the South-East were sufficient grounds for Mbah’s long anticipated defection.
“Gov. Mbah’s exit is not an isolated event . It is the final chapter in the South-East’s disillusionment with a party that failed to reward faithfulness, fairness and friendship,” he alleged.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the APC had announced plans to welcome Mbah, thousands of political officer holders and aides from the PDP into the national ruling party (APC).
The grand reception of members of PDP Enugu State into APC would take place on Tuesday in Okpara Square, Enugu.
The APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, was said to have broken the news of the governor’s impending defection on Friday.
