APC’s Silent Harvest: 4 governors ready to switch sides

Nigeria’s political landscape is quietly redrawing itself as no fewer than four governors are said to be preparing to dump the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Among those tipped for defection are Governors Peter Mbah of Enugu and Duoye Diri of Bayelsa, both elected on the platform of the PDP. Two others, one from the North-East (Taraba) and another from the North-West are also reported to be on the verge of crossing over, according to  former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad.

Ahmad, who served under the late President Muhammadu Buhari, hinted on X on Wednesday that “in a matter of days, the Governor of Taraba State and another from the North-West will officially join our great party, the APC.”

Inside the Power Play

According to Vanguard, Governor Mbah has already secured the nod of key Enugu political stakeholders to defect, alongside 24 state lawmakers, 260 councillors, and members of the PDP State Executive Committee.

The move, Vanguard says, follows months of frustration over the PDP’s internal crises and its alleged marginalisation of the South-East, particularly the refusal to ratify Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the party’s national secretary.

“The governor will land in APC,” a senior aide to Mbah told journalists. “It’s a done deal only the date of the formal declaration remains.”

In Bayelsa, Governor Diri’s planned move has divided the state’s political class. While he is said to have consulted former President Goodluck Jonathan and secured the backing of the Bayelsa House of Assembly majority, several National Assembly members including former governor Seriake Dickson have openly opposed the defection plan.

APC’s Expanding Reach

The APC National Working Committee (NWC) on Thursday dissolved the Enugu State Working Committee and appointed a caretaker team, a step widely seen as clearing the path for Mbah’s entry.
Party chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda described the moves as “political evangelism that will reshape the South-East.”

Analysts view the impending defections as part of President Bola Tinubu’s broader strategy to consolidate the ruling party’s grip across all six geopolitical zones ahead of the 2027 general elections.

If confirmed, the defections of Mbah, Diri, and the two northern governors will dramatically weaken the PDP’s foothold in the South-East, South-South and North-East, effectively redrawing Nigeria’s political map.