YENAGOA, Nigeria — Tension has gripped Bayelsa State following Governor Douye Diri’s surprise defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The governor made the announcement on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, during an expanded State Executive Council meeting held at the Government House in Yenagoa.
The meeting was attended by the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Abraham Ngobere; his deputy, Michael Ogbere; and several other lawmakers who also declared their resignation from the PDP.
Addressing the gathering, Diri said his decision came after “extensive consultations” across political circles.
“Today, I wish to address a matter that has been the subject of speculation and debate across party lines in Bayelsa State and beyond,” he said.
“We allowed the speculations, but while it lasted, we were also doing our consultation.
“After extensive consultation, today, October 15, I wish to formally notify you that in keeping with the extant protocols, I, Governor Douye Diri, do hereby resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“I am not resigning alone; as you can see, I am here with Mr Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and all the members of our party in the Assembly who are with me on this. So, today, I have formally resigned from the PDP for very obvious reasons.”
Conspicuously absent from the meeting was Diri’s deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, whose name the governor did not mention in his speech.
Political observers say the omission and Ewhrudjakpo’s absence point to growing cracks within the state’s top leadership.
Sources within the Government House told reporters that the deputy governor was unhappy that he was not consulted before the decision was made.
Ewhrudjakpo, who maintains a close relationship with Diri’s predecessor and political benefactor, Senator Seriake Dickson, has so far declined to follow his boss to the APC.
Dickson, a serving senator and former Bayelsa governor, has reportedly instructed his loyalists to remain in the PDP.
He is said to have told associates that the party remains his political home despite recent defections.
Three members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly — Godless Oyinke (Sagbama 1), Wisdom Fafi (Kolokuma/Opokuma 2), and Ted Elemeforo (Yenagoa Constituency III) — have also opted to stay in the PDP.
Oyinke represents Dickson’s home constituency, while Fafi is the former governor’s in-law.
Despite the defections, political insiders say Diri is unlikely to pressure his deputy or the remaining lawmakers to follow suit, preferring to avoid further instability in the state’s political landscape.
Speaker Ngobere, who spoke during the meeting, praised the governor’s decision, describing it as a move driven by loyalty rather than ambition.
“You are not doing this because of greed,” Ngobere said.
“You have no stake in the forthcoming election. I think you have done this to protect your political family. Today, what is happening to our former party, PDP, is clear. We know what happened to the PDP in Plateau. PDP, as it stands, does not have the capacity and strength to produce candidates that will be strong enough to contest elections in this country.”
Diri’s defection, coming less than 24 hours after Enugu Governor Peter Mbah joined the APC, has dealt another heavy blow to the PDP, which now controls only eight states nationwide.
