2027: Over 6,000 NDC members defect to PDP in Enugu

More than 6,000 members of the Nigeria Democratic Congress have defected to the Peoples Democratic Party in Enugu State, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The defectors, led by an NDC stalwart in the state, Mr Godwin Obasi, were formally received into the PDP by the party leadership in Enugu on Sunday.

Explaining their decision to leave the NDC, Obasi said the group decided to join the PDP after the party allegedly fielded unpopular candidates for various elective positions.

He said the defectors were drawn from all 260 wards and the 17 local government areas of the state.

“We decided that we were going to join the PDP. It is our right and choice. So, after he congregated, we are here today to officially join the PDP. And we are over 6,000 of us. We are from all the 260 wards and 17 local government areas in the state, and all of us have moved into the PDP from today,” he stated.

The PDP Chairman in the state, Chief Vitus Okechi, lauded their bold and courageous step and promised them full accommodation, equal rights and ample opportunity to participate in all party activities and in the collective mission of bringing lasting change to Enugu State.

Receiving the new members, the PDP governorship candidate in Enugu State, Chief Uche Nnaji, assured them that they would be fully accommodated in the party.

The PDP standard bearer claimed the state government had failed to deliver on its promises to the people, saying the collective efforts of residents were needed to rescue the state.

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According to him, the major achievement of the All Progressives Congress administration in the state had been the introduction of taxes which, he alleged, were suffocating residents.

He further alleged that even dead bodies and newborn babies were being subjected to taxation, while questioning what he described as the lack of tangible development to justify the huge revenue generated by the state government.

He said, “Our pensioners are not being paid. Enugu is the only place where pensions and gratuities are not being paid to our people. Nothing is paid to our people. Everybody is in a mess. Imo and Anambra pay their pensions and gratuities to date. What sin have we committed in Enugu State?

“And President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has released so much money to all the states. What this government here has received is more than what the three previous governors — Chimaroke, Sullivan and Gbagbo — put together. What they received in 24 years, this government has received in about three years. We are talking of trillions.”

Nnaji also questioned the huge internally generated revenue announced by the Enugu State Government in 2025, alleging that the revenue came at the expense of the lives and comfort of residents.

He called for greater participation by residents in efforts to effect what he described as a change in the state.