YENAGOA, Nigeria — Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), marking yet another high-profile defection that deepens the party’s internal crisis.
Diri announced his resignation on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, during a cabinet meeting at the Government House in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
He cited “very obvious reasons” for his decision but did not immediately disclose his next political move.
“Today, I have formally resigned my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party for very obvious reasons,” the governor said.
“I am grateful to all my friends and supporters who have stood by us and with us, and I want to thank all of you. Together, we will continue to build a strong, virile Bayelsa State and a strong and virile country by extension.”
Diri added that members of his cabinet and the Bayelsa State House of Assembly have also tendered their resignations from the PDP alongside him.
The governor’s departure comes less than 24 hours after Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah defected from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), where he was formally received by senior government officials and party leaders in Enugu.
Diri’s exit further weakens the PDP’s hold on state leadership across Nigeria.
With his resignation, the opposition party now controls only eight of the country’s 36 states, continuing a steady decline in influence since the 2023 general elections.
Though Diri did not explicitly state whether he plans to join another political party, speculation is rife that he may align with the APC or form a new coalition ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Diri, who was first elected governor in 2020 following a Supreme Court ruling that voided the APC’s victory in the Bayelsa gubernatorial election, has been a key figure in the Niger Delta region’s political landscape.
