All roads lead to Yenagoa on Monday as Vice President Kashim Shettima and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are set to storm the Bayelsa State capital to formally receive Governor Douye Diri into the ruling party.
Governor Diri, who resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on 15 October, will officially defect to the APC in what party insiders describe as a major political realignment ahead of future elections. Preparations are said to be in top gear to ensure a grand ceremony.
However, the governor’s planned defection has sparked unease among some APC chieftains in the state, who accuse him of attempting to upend the existing party structure.
Former APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, expressed strong reservations over the development, warning against what he called a plot to “destroy” the existing leadership of the party in Bayelsa.
Speaking to reporters in Abuja on Sunday, Nabena said while he had no objection to Diri joining the party, “it would be wrong of him to destroy some people and the existing leadership of the APC in Bayelsa State because he wants to take full control of the party.”
He alleged that recent controversies in the state, including rumours surrounding the alleged arrest of NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, were orchestrated from Diri’s camp as part of a broader plan to weaken key APC figures ahead of his defection.
“But up till now, we have not found an answer to the question of what Governor Douye Diri is bringing to the APC,” Nabena said. “This is a governor whose deputy is not defecting with him and who is already plotting to impeach the deputy governor. Even some members of the State House of Assembly and about 90 percent of serving National Assembly members, including Senator Dickson, are not with him.”
Diri’s defection makes him the fourth PDP governor to cross over to the APC in recent months, following Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom) and Peter Mbah (Enugu)
Meanwhile, Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas is also reportedly on the verge of joining the ruling party. Speaking at a meeting with APC youth stakeholders in Abuja on Wednesday, Kefas said his decision to realign politically was driven by “the higher goal of ensuring greater development, improved security and increased federal presence” in Taraba.
He was quoted by the state’s APC Youth Vanguard as saying, “Our state must take its rightful place in national development, and that can only happen when we work hand in hand with the centre.”
