Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, on Monday formally dumped the Peoples Democratic Party for the ruling All Progressives Congress, describing his former party as a “sinking ship.”
Vice President Kashim Shettima led a high-powered APC delegation to Yenagoa to receive the governor into the party at a colourful ceremony held at the Samson Siasia Sports Stadium.
Also present were 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, following similar moves by Oborevwori, Eno, and Enugu’s Peter Mbah.
The governor had earlier announced his resignation from the PDP on October 15 during a meeting with his cabinet, citing what he called “obvious reasons.”
Speaking at the event, Diri 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,” he said.
“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.”
Diri declared that his defection represented more than a personal political move, calling it a wider “Ijaw realignment.”
“This defection is not a Bayelsa defection. It is the Ijaw nation defecting to the APC,” he stated.
The governor referenced his long history as an Ijaw activist, recalling that the demand for a coastal highway linking Lagos and Calabar had been a major agitation of the Ijaw National Congress since the military era.
“Even during the military regime, we requested a coastal road from Lagos to Calabar,” he said, displaying an old memorandum sent to then Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar.
“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.”
