The All Progressives Congress (APC) has confirmed that Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, will formally defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling party on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
The move, which will take place in Enugu, is expected to see several lawmakers and political leaders in the state joining the APC alongside the governor.
Speaking shortly after being sworn in at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja on Friday, the Enugu State APC Caretaker Chairman, Dr. Ben Nwoye, said the defection would mark a new political chapter for the state.
“For the past 10 years, Enugu State has remained in opposition. But all that will change on Tuesday, the 14th of October, 2025, when the governor will be declaring for the APC,” Nwoye told journalists.
He added that the governor would not be coming alone. “The governor is coming in with 260 ward councillors. They will be declaring with the governor. He will be coming in with the 24 members of the House of Assembly. He will be coming in with members of the National Assembly. He will also be coming with the entire Exco,” he said.
The APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and the Deputy National Chairman (South), Emma Eneukwu, inaugurated a seven-member caretaker committee for the party in Enugu on the same day. Yilwatda said the move was part of a broader strategy to strengthen the APC’s base in the South-East.
It was earlier reported that the party’s National Working Committee dissolved the Enugu State Executive Committee on Wednesday to pave the way for Mbah’s entry into the APC.
Addressing the newly inaugurated caretaker team, Yilwatda acknowledged the task before them.
“We know the challenges that we’re in, the need to rebuild the party, to keep the party, to refocus the party, to ensure that the party expands — expansion in terms of membership,” he said.
He stressed the need to value existing members while attracting new ones. “We want to see the number of people that we have in the APC increase under your leadership, without forgetting the members that we already have in the APC. You can’t throw away what you have because you want to go and get what you don’t have. We must maintain our members — those who have laboured, who have suffered, who have built the party, who have sustained it,” he said.
“The APC is a home to all. The person who came yesterday, the person that came today, the person that will come tomorrow, and the person that will come next tomorrow will all have equal rights and equal access, based on our Constitution,” Yilwatda added.
As the 2027 general elections approach, the APC chairman emphasized that the ruling party was determined to secure a resounding victory.
He also cautioned the caretaker committee to adhere strictly to the party’s constitution and due process.
“The NWC has to follow due process in dissolving the state working committee. Ensure that all legal processes are followed.
“I don’t expect that you will go and form yourself into a group that will work based on personal interests or personal dislike for anyone. The fact that you are in an office means even your enemies must become your friends. You must treat your friends and your enemies equally,” he advised
