A founding member of the All Progressives Congress, Osita Okechukwu, has said the anticipated defection of Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, from the Peoples Democratic Party marks the conclusive collapse of the opposition party’s presence in the South-East.
Governor Mbah is expected to formally join the APC on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
Speaking with journalists on Sunday in Abuja, Okechukwu described the development as a political watershed and a clear sign that the South-East has finally severed ties with the PDP.
Calling the move “pragmatic, rational, and inevitable,” Okechukwu said it reflects the end of an era — from the PDP controlling all five states in the zone in 1999 to now holding none by 2025.
Quoting the late former Senate President, Chuba Okadigbo, Okechukwu recalled, “The PDP pays good deeds with bad coins,” saying Mbah’s departure vindicates that sentiment.
He referenced key moments in PDP’s history where, according to him, the South-East was sidelined, including the 1999 Jos presidential primaries where Okadigbo was overlooked, and the 2003 general election when the zone failed to support the Buhari/Okadigbo presidential ticket.
He accused the PDP of consistently ignoring principles of equity and fairness, citing the 2023 presidential primaries as an example where no southern aspirant was allowed to contest, despite repeated calls for power rotation.
“The last straw that broke the PDP’s camel’s back,” he stated, “was the marginalisation of the Southeast during the dispute over the National Secretary position.”
Okechukwu pointed to a communiqué issued by the PDP Southeast Zonal Executive Committee on May 14, 2023, which warned that the region would reconsider its association with the party if Sunday Udeh-Okoye was not confirmed as National Secretary after Senator Samuel Anyanwu vacated the seat to contest the Imo governorship election.
He also referenced concerns raised by former Senate President and PDP Board of Trustees Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, who had publicly expressed frustration over the party’s continued neglect of the South-East despite its longstanding loyalty.
Okechukwu concluded that Mbah’s imminent defection was not an isolated incident but a culmination of years of betrayal and disregard by the PDP.
“Governor Mbah’s exit is not an isolated event,” he said. “It represents the final chapter in the Southeast’s disillusionment with a party that failed to reward faithfulness, fairness, and friendship.”
