PDP crisis over zoning deepens as Mbah and lawmakers defect to APC Analyst says South-East alienation is fuelling collapse of party unity
PDP crisis over zoning has escalated into what one political analyst describes as a “deep crisis” for the opposition party, following the defection of key members including Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State.
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Renowned political affairs commentator Majeed Dahiru has attributed the latest wave of defections to the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) controversial decision not to zone the 2023 presidential ticket to the South-East—a region historically loyal to the party.
Speaking on ARISE News, Dahiru condemned the move as a “mortal sin” that continues to erode the party’s national cohesion and fuel an exodus of disenchanted leaders.
On Tuesday, Governor Mbah officially announced his switch to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), citing a desire to better serve Enugu State through broader collaboration and access to federal support.
Shortly after his move, three PDP lawmakers from Kaduna—Abdulkarim Ahmed, Aliyu Mustapha, and Sadiq Ango-Abdullahi—also defected to the APC.
Their resignations, read on the House floor by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, referenced the PDP’s persistent internal divisions and the appeal of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to Dahiru, the core of the PDP crisis over zoning lies in the party’s failure to respect long-standing power rotation agreements.
“The South-East, and Enugu in particular, has stood by the PDP since 1998. To deny the region its rightful turn in 2023 was not just unwise—it was disastrous,” he said.
He added that the party’s decision to sidestep zoning in favour of a northern candidate during the primaries disillusioned a key voting bloc and contributed to Peter Obi’s defection and meteoric rise with the Labour Party.
“Peter Obi was not only popular—he was the ideal candidate from the right region. The PDP missed a historic opportunity,” Dahiru noted.
Dahiru also cited the lack of interest in the upcoming Anambra governorship primaries, where no aspirant has picked up nomination forms, as evidence of the PDP’s waning influence in the South-East.
He warned that internal rifts, such as the lingering presence of Nyesom Wike—a former PDP heavyweight now openly supporting the APC president—have left the party “in perpetual crisis.”
While Dahiru downplayed defections between the APC and PDP due to their “lack of ideological distinction,” he expressed grave concern over exits from the Labour Party.
“The Labour Party was powered by real people’s movement, not political machinery. Any defection from that platform is a betrayal of the grassroots,” he said.
He concluded by lamenting how Nigerian politicians, even those who rose on popular mandates, tend to replicate establishment behaviours, thereby undermining democracy.
Also read: PDP confirms plans for inclusive national convention
“The people built a new movement, but those who benefited now act like the elite they vowed to replace,” Dahiru observed.
