More than 6,000 members of the Nigeria Democratic Congress have joined 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 by the PDP leadership in Enugu on Sunday.
Obasi said the group decided to leave the NDC because of what he described as the party’s decision to field unpopular candidates for various elective positions.
He said the new PDP members were drawn from all 260 wards and 17 local government areas of Enugu 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.
Receiving the defectors, the Enugu State PDP Chairman, Chief Vitus Okechi, described their decision as a bold step and assured them of equal rights, full accommodation and opportunities to participate in the party’s activities.
The party’s governorship candidate in the state, Chief Uche Nnaji, also assured the new members that they would be fully integrated into the PDP.
Nnaji used the occasion to criticise the state government, alleging that it had failed to fulfil its promises to residents. He said residents needed to work together to bring about the change he advocated for the state.
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According to him, taxation had been one of the major policies of the All Progressives Congress administration in the state, alleging that the policy had placed residents under severe pressure.
He further alleged that taxes were being imposed even on dead bodies and newborn babies, while questioning the lack of tangible development despite the revenue generated by the government.
“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 raised questions over the internally generated revenue reported by the Enugu State Government in 2025, alleging that the revenue drive had come at the expense of residents’ lives and comfort.
He subsequently urged residents to participate more actively in efforts to bring about the change he said the state needed.