The founding National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Udenta Udenta, has criticized the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Speaking on Wednesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, Udenta, a professor, described the move as a desecration of public trust.

He said political mandates belong to political parties and not individuals, stressing that Governor Mbah’s defection undermined the sanctity of democratic representation.

“Individuals are anonymous; mandates are given to political parties, not to individuals. Individuals, as important as they are, are very small players in this game of power because the party is the symbol of power.

“The people in their millions troop out to vote for a party, so Peter Mbah did not win the elections; the PDP won the election in Enugu State.

“He just held on to the trust for the people, and that trust was desacralized yesterday [Tuesday] because it was almost an abominable act,” he stated.

Udenta described the governor’s action as not just a political misstep but also a moral and cultural failing, saying the South-East must reflect on the implications of such political conduct.

“People gave you a mandate in their millions and you say, ‘I have a broom somewhere,’” he said.

“In conversing on this matter, people should be very careful about the kind of democratic tradition and culture we are building. Yesterday was not a political surrender for the South-East; it was a cultural surrender because you must understand that there are some moral boundaries you don’t cross in politics.

“We have crossed several, and the media has a role to play,” the professor added.

He, therefore, cautioned against what he called the normalization of unethical political behaviour, noting that while certain constitutional provisions might not make defections illegal, they still reflect “clearly unsavory and unethical conduct” among the political class.

“You can’t build an inclusive model of party democracy when people see, maybe not illegal but clearly unethical conduct on the part of the political class,” he added.

The professor’s comments followed Governor Mbah’s official defection to the APC during a statewide broadcast on Tuesday.

“There comes always a time when everyone must make a bold choice to determine their destiny.

“Today, after a long reflection, we have made a decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party and join the All Progressives Congress,” Mbah had stated during the broadcast.

The governor defended his decision, saying it was necessary to connect Enugu State more closely to the central government. (Channels TV)