Olayiwola Matthew
Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State says his defection, alongside majority of its cabinet members, to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is to attract development to the state.
Diri was officially received into the ruling party by Vice-President Kashim Shettima at a rally in Yenagoa on Monday.
The rally was attended by several high-profile figures, including the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio,
Others are governors Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, Hope Uzodimma of Imo, and Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom.
Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, APC National Chairman, presented the party’s flag to Diri, declaring him the new leader of the APC in Bayelsa.
According to Yilwatda, “Bayelsa State has spoken. Today, Bayelsa State is APC, Bayelsa State is too critical for us to leave it in the hands of PDP.
“The roads have been constructed. We saw it. We saw the fishes in the fish farms. We saw agriculture booming. We saw trading. We saw everything doing good.
“Therefore, Governor Diri is welcome to the family of the APC. I can now give him this flag as the leader of the party in the state.
“Take this broom as a symbol of our party. Sweep out PDP, and ensure that the votes are swept in 2027,” he said.
Speaking after receiving the flag, Diri said his defection was a collective decision by the Ijaw people.
“On Oct. 15, I announced my resignation from the People’s Democratic Party, and I ended up by saying the obvious reasons.
“Today, you will hear some of those obvious reasons. Your Excellency, the Vice President, the people you are seeing are not just Bayelsa people alone.
“They are Ijaws from Delta State in their numbers. There are Ijaws from Ondo State and there are Ijaws from Edo State in their numbers.
“This defection is not a Bayelsa defection. It is the Ijaw nation defecting to the APC,” he said.
Shettima commended Diri for taking a wise decision by joining the APC, with over 95 per cent of Bayelsa people.
He said that the governor had done well for Bayelsa people in all sectors by delivering the dividends of democracy, especially to the grassroots.
The Vice President assured the Bayelsa people of more commitment and support from the Federal Government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In 2025, the opposition party has lost Governors Diri of Bayelsa, Oborevwori of Delta, Eno of Akwa Ibom, and Peter Mbah of Enugu to the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.