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

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The defectors, led by an NDC stalwart, Godwin Obasi, were formally received by the PDP leadership in Enugu during a gathering on Saturday.

Obasi said the group decided to leave the NDC following dissatisfaction with the party’s choice of candidates for various elective positions. He said the defectors were drawn from all 260 wards and the 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 new members, the Enugu State PDP Chairman, Chief Vitus Okechi, welcomed their decision and assured them of equal rights and opportunities within the party.

Okechi also pledged that the defectors would be accommodated and allowed to participate in the activities of the party as part of its efforts ahead of the 2027 elections. �

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The PDP governorship candidate in the state, Chief Uche Nnaji, also assured the new members that they would be fully integrated into the party.

Nnaji used the occasion to criticise the Enugu State Government, alleging that the administration had failed to fulfil its promises to residents. He called for greater participation by citizens in efforts to bring about what he described as a change in the state.

The PDP candidate further alleged that taxation had become a major feature of the state government’s policies and claimed that the burden was affecting residents.

He also alleged that even newborn babies and dead bodies were being subjected to taxation, while questioning the level of development achieved despite the revenue generated by the state government. These claims were made by Nnaji at the defection event and were not independently established in the reports. �

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Nnaji also alleged that pensioners and other beneficiaries in Enugu were not receiving their pensions and gratuities, contrasting the situation with neighbouring Imo and Anambra states.

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.”

He also questioned the internally generated revenue announced by the Enugu State Government in 2025, alleging that the revenue collection came at the expense of residents’ welfare.

Nnaji called on residents to participate more actively in the state’s political process as preparations continue towards the 2027 general elections.