Governor Mbah’s Defection to APC Signals Major Power Shift in South East

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), once the dominant political force across Nigeria’s South East and South South regions, is experiencing a profound crisis as high-profile defections continue to erode its strongholds. This continuous loss of sitting governors is being widely interpreted as a massive political victory for President Bola Tinubu’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which appears to be successfully dismantling the opposition’s regional dominance.

Dependable NG reports that the latest and most significant blow to the PDP came with the formal defection of Enugu State Governor, Barr Peter Mbah, to the APC. Governor Mbah announced his move during a state-wide broadcast, justifying the decision as a necessary step to “connect the South-Eastern state to the central government.” Mbah’s exit is set to be followed by that of Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, a former loyalist whose defection, it is learnt, has been finalized. This move by Diri is viewed as a symbolic collapse of opposition resilience in the oil-rich South South, a region that notably produced former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The current wave of defections had already seen Delta State Governor Sheriff Obvwevori and Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno move to the APC earlier this year, taking their officials and appointees with them. The two regions, which served as PDP fortresses for nearly two decades, are now being effectively neutralized, leading analysts to predict minimal regional resistance to President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.

The internal crisis rocking the PDP has drawn sharp reactions from party stakeholders. Former National Youth Leader of the PDP, Sunday Udeh-Okoye, confidently predicted on Channels Television that yet another South-East state would soon “fall” to the APC, signaling the growing and “unstoppable” influence of the ruling party. Conversely, senior party members expressed shock and condemnation. Chief Bode George, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, admitted he “never saw it coming” despite internal interventions. Similarly, former National Auditor, Ray Nnaji, described Governor Mbah’s defection as a “grave political mistake” that would eventually backfire. Nnaji also alleged that the welcome crowd for the governor was “rented,” and he pointedly blamed the PDP’s national leadership for its “poor leadership” and failure to take decisive action to challenge and halt the defection spree. Meanwhile, Public Affairs Analyst Dr. Nduka Odo labeled the PDP a “sinking ship,” suggesting that politicians are merely defecting to the APC to safeguard their political careers, arguing that in politics, “Survival is primary. Nobody would want to drown along with a sinking ship.”