He said the move was not only timely but strategic as it would connect Enugu, the former capital of the Old Eastern State, to the centre controlled by the APC, the ruling party.
Igwesi, who spoke to newsmen in Enugu, expressed joy that the Coal City State has rejoined the mainstream political power grid which eluded it since 2015 when the APC upstaged the PDP which hitherto had controlled the levers of power at the centre for 16 years.
The former Majority Leader of the Enugu House of Assembly, who represented Nkanu West State Constituency, said Governor Mbah, who has written his name in gold with his disruptive leadership, has recorded another milestone in the state.
“Governor Mbah is smart and strategic. He knows what and when to take action. Everyone who followed events in PDP would agree that he had had enough of the shenanigans in his former party. The PDP is irredeemable and the crises bedevilling the main opposition party are self-inflicted. All Enugu people are happy with the governor’s decision to move,” he said.
Igwesi said that with a complementary relationship between Enugu and the Federal Government, both of which are now under the same party, Mbah’s haste to reposition the state is now assured.
“The support on the day of Mbah’s defection was organic and resounding as all strata of party faithful trooped in their numbers to embrace the new party. The holistic political swap from PDP to APC would reinforce Mbah’s visionary infrastructural revolution in the state.
“Posterity and history will always remember Governor Mbah for taking a disruptive step in reconnecting the state to the national grid of political power and mainstream political engineering,” he said.
Igwesi regretted that while the people of the South East had supported the opposition party for the greater part of the last 26 years, the zone does not have much to show for its loyalty and contribution to the PDP, especially in terms of development.
He said that in view of the radical and progressive ideas of Governor Mbah, his defection from the PDP to the APC was in the overall strategic interest of the South East.
“The move is strategic because he has aligned Enugu State and, by extension, the entire South East into the mainstream of Nigerian politics. Remember, Enugu is the capital of the South East and it, therefore, does not make much sense for the state to be in opposition and outside Nigeria’s mainstream politics.
“It is evident that the situation in PDP, on whose platform the governor contested and won election in 2023, is irredeemable. Therefore, it does not make any sense for any well-meaning politician to remain in the opposition party, with the obvious uncertainty in PDP.
“Governor Mbah has given a good account of himself in the governance of the state in the last two years and there is no doubt that under his leadership, Enugu has witnessed an unprecedented infrastructural revolution.
“Therefore, the governor’s defection to the APC will give more impetus to his development strides, as the state would be properly aligned with the Federal Government, for the overall benefit of the people of Enugu.
“The governor’s defection will also help to hook the entire South East to the centre, so that the zone can reap maximum benefits from the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Tinubu administration,” he said.
The Sun
