* Says Tinubu, a friend that sticks closer than a brother
*How he changed political equation in Bayelsa
* Implications of Diri’s move
By Clifford Ndujihe, Politics Editor
IT is no longer news that, in a dramatic political turn, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, formally defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, on November 3.
However, his reasons for doing so, how he did it and the implications of the defection for Bayelsa, South-South geo-political zone, and the 2027 elections remain newsy.
In what panned out as a massive “welcome-home” ceremony held at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex, Ovom, Yenagoa, the event drew a sea of supporters, senior party leaders and a litany of dignitaries across the country.
Sea of white shirts, flags, drums
The lanes of Yenagoa were awash with the colours of the APC. Thousands of supporters — many clad in white T-shirts and others in colourful local attire from all eight local government areas of Bayelsa – defied a stubborn drizzle that started early in the morning and ended at 3.30pm to fill the Samson Siasia Stadium and the surrounding precincts.
By 10 am, the complex (with a nominal capacity of 5,000) was filled beyond capacity, and security operatives restricted further entry to avoid a stampede.
Chants of “APC! APC!” echoed, drums rolled, flags fluttered, and the roads into the venue were lined with cheering revellers — for many this was described as a carnival-like rally that officially started at 4.18pm.
Flags and banners of the APC fluttered on electric poles along highways and roads in the Government House, for the first time in the history of the state. Since 1999, Bayelsa remained a stronghold of the PDP until November 3. Chief Timipre Sylva, who governed the state on PDP platform lost in 2019, and 2023 when he aspired on APC platform.
In 2019, David Lyon’s dream of taking Bayelsa to APC was aborted. After winning the November 19, 2019 governorship election, the Supreme Court annulled it because his running mate was not qualified, and handed victory to Diri, who went on to win a re-election.
In essence, what APC could not achieve through the ballot box, it has got by a stroke of defection.
As enthusiastic supporters trooped to Yenogoa from all parts of the state for the defection rally, seven aircrafts flying-in VIPs from other parts of the country, landed at Bayelsa International Airport, Amassoma, Southern Ijaw LGA. They were to leave in a long snaky convoy of over 100 vehicles to the venue.
Big names on podium
The high-profile turnout underscored the significance of the defection. On the dais among others were:
Kashim Shettima, Vice President of Nigeria, representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who formally received Diri into the APC.
Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, who welcomed the governor and praised his move.
Hope Uzodimma, Governor of Imo State and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, who described the defection as “a courageous and progressive decision taken at the right time”.
Other notable governors in attendance included Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Sheriff Oborevwori(Delta), Lucky Aiyedatiwa(Ondo), Peter Mbah(Enugu), Usman Ododo(Kogi), Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq(Kwara), Monday Okpebholo(Edo) and Dapo Abiodun(Ogun). There were also APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda; Minister of State Petroleum, Heineken Lokpobiri; Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin; Senator Adams Oshiomhole, Senator Ben Bruce, Senator Benson Konbowei; Senator Benson Agadaga; Nze Chidi Duru; and Hajia Fatima, wife House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abass.
Key remarks
At the heart of the event were the speeches. In his welcome address, Vice President Shettima said: “Your Excellency, Governor Douye Diri, this gathering is a home-coming party for you. We are not here for a ceremony of convenience but for a celebration of conviction. … Today, Bayelsa State has chosen unity over division … politics should be seen as the art of building bridges across rivers of differences.”
S-South’ll return Tinubu ‘unopposed’ –Akpabio
Senate President Akpabio congratulated Diri on taking what he described as a bold step in the right direction, welcoming him into the “family” of the ruling party.
With the move, Akpabio said President Tinubu would be returned ‘unopposed’ in the South-South in 2027, adding: “South-South is turning around. South-South is one. No division in 2027.”
Nigerians uniting for Tinubu — Uzodimma
Governor Uzodimma, speaking on behalf of the progressive governors, reiterated that the move aligned with the “renewed hope agenda” of the President and confirmed that Nigerians were uniting under one purpose.
15 reasons I left PDP –Diri
Governor Diri, in his 23-Point address, outlined 15 reasons he left the PDP, which centred on Tinubu’s support to Bayelsa and the mutually assured destruction the crises in PDP had assumed.
He said: “We tried all we could to save the PDP but to no avail. Undertakers were very busy burying the PDP. After seeing that the undertakers wanted to bury the PDP, I never wanted my state to be buried alongside it.
“This defection is not a Bayelsa defection; it is the Ijaw nation defecting to the APC.
“Some ignorant people said I had lost my office. But the only way a governor can lose his seat is through impeachment … and in this case, the Speaker and majority of the Assembly members are with me….
“Somebody had to take the decision and I took it on behalf of the state. Some of you might not understand now, but later it will be clear.”
The 15 reasons are:
*Unity and common purpose that sustained PDP had been eroded
*Internal dynamics made renewal of PDP difficult
*Undertakers were bent on burying PDP, I don’t want Bayelsa buried with PDP
* I don’t want our NASS and Assembly members to be caught in PDP quagmire and lack platform for re-election
*South-South used be all PDP. I used to be chairman of South-South PDP governors. All others have left, I became chairman of myself
*I joined APC based on wide consultation and careful consideration in the interest of Bayelsa people
* President Tinubu is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He is a friend of Bayelsa and supporter of Ijaw people
*Tinubu awarded contract and started building Lagos-calabar Coastal Road, one of Ijaw Nation’s long-standing demands
*Tinubu didn’t use Federal might to abort my re-election
*Nembe-Brass Road had been on the drawing board for 60 years under past governments but received prompt attention after I went to Tinubu
*Tinubu waived tax burden for Bayelsa on importation of 60MW gas turbines
*The APC-led FG endorsed Bayelsa’s Agge Deep Seaport project
* We need to naturally align with a leadership that is prepared to act in Bayelsa’s best interest and advance our people’s welfare
*With Tinubu supporting Bayelsa’s development, I have no reason to remain in a sinking ship
* No division in Bayelsa APC, I have been accepted by the whole APC family.
As the leader of APC in Bayelsa now, Diri declared: “I am not a bossy type. I have come to unite us so that we can work together and produce a 99 per cent result in Bayelsa come 2027.”
Who moved with Diri?
Those who moved with Diri to the APC are 23 of 24 members of the Bayelsa House of Assembly, two of the three serving senators Konbowei and Agadaga, and all council chairmen among others.
Implications
Once again, Bayelsa has been reunited with the party at the centre since 2015 following the loss of the PDP, via former President Goodluck Jonathan, who incidentally hails from Bayelsa.
Diri’s repeated reference to “undertakers” burying the PDP conveys his perception that his former party had been internally captured and weakened.
For the APC, the significance is enormous: Diri is now the fourth sitting governor this year to leave the PDP for the APC (after Oborevwori of Delta, Eno of Akwa Ibom, and Peter Mbah of Enugu).
In effect, the old PDP bastion of Bayelsa has delivered a seismic blow to the party’s hold in the South-South region.
What this means for Bayelsa
The spectacle at the Samson Siasia stadium was more than theatre — it signals a political realignment with potentially huge implications for patronage, federal projects and internal state politics.
For the APC, absorbing a governor from a firmly PDP state strengthens its federal reach and shows growing dominance.
For the PDP, losing one of its few remaining strongholds deepens its crisis and raises fresh questions about its viability.
Governor Diri, on his part, has taken a risk and whether the move will deliver for the people of Bayelsa as he outlined is left to be seen.
At the end of the day, Monday’s event in Yenagoa was not simply a defection ceremony, but a statement of political power. Governor Diri, flanked by the Vice President, Denate President and a host of governors, declared his new allegiance.
He appealed to history and to his people: “If the party I once led can no longer serve Bayelsa, then Bayelsa must find a new path.” The question now is whether this path will lead to development and prosperity—or simply a change of colours. Time will tell.
The post DIRI:15 reasons I left PDP appeared first on Vanguard News.
