Olushola Omogbehin
Following the earlier announcement of the resignation of the Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, from the Peoples Democratic Party, he has formally completed his move to join the ruling All Progressives Congress while he described his former party as a “sinking ship.”
The event which took place in Yenagoa was attended by Vice President Kashim Shettima who led APC delegation to receive the governor into the party at a ceremony at Samson Siasia Sports Stadium.
Governor Diri who announced his resignation from the PDP during a meeting with his cabinet on October 15 said he took the decision to save Bayelsa from sharing in the fate of what he described as a dying opposition party.
“We tried all we could to save the PDP, but to no avail. Undertakers were very busy to bury the party. After seeing that the undertakers wanted to bury the PDP, I never wanted my state to be buried alongside it. So after consultations with our leaders, it was incumbent on me as governor to make a decision. This defection is not a Bayelsa defection. It is the Ijaw nation defecting to the APC,” he said.
Speaking further on his defection, he said as an Ijaw activist, the demand for a coastal highway linking Lagos and Calabar had been a major agitation of the Ijaw National Congress since the military era.
Showing an old memorandum sent to the then Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, he said even during the military regime, we requested a coastal road from Lagos to Calabar.
“Today, President Bola Tinubu has acted on that demand. He has shown that he loves the Ijaw and Bayelsa people. If we have a President who understands our needs, I have no reason to remain on a sinking ship.”
He added that he has been under pressure from his South-South colleagues to join the ruling party after becoming the only PDP governor left in the region.
In his speech, Vice President Shettima who commended the governor for putting development above party politics, called Diri’s defection “a homecoming.”
“We are here not for a ceremony of convenience but a celebration of conviction. Governor Diri has chosen the harder right over the easier wrong. Today, he has shown that Bayelsa has chosen the light of integration over the shadows of isolation.
“From the Sagbama–Ekeremor Highway to the Yenagoa–Oporoma Bridge, he has connected lives and built hope where there was darkness. Good governance is not about noise but impact.”
In his own address, APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yiltwada, said Bayelsa’s decision to align with the APC marked “a U-turn in the right direction.”
“The fishermen, the farmers, the traders and the workers have spoken with one voice. Bayelsa has said, ‘We are now APC.
“Governor Diri, as leader of our party in the state, take this flag as a symbol of strength and authority. Sweep out PDP and deliver victory for President Tinubu in 2027.”
Other APC stakeholders at the meeting are: Senate President Godswill Akpabio and governors Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Hope Uzodimma (Imo) and Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom).
Diri’s defection, coming ahead of the 2027 general elections, makes him the fourth PDP governor to join the APC this year after similar moves by his Delta, Akwa Ibom and Enugun’s counterparts.
