The All Progressives Congress (APC) is on the cusp of emasculating the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-South, a zone once considered the impregnable fortress of the PDP.
The zone, since 1999, has been 100 percent PDP, until the former fiery labour leader, Adams Oshiomhole, through a Supreme Court ruling in 2007, became governor under the Labour Party (LP) before joining the APC. For once, an opposition party held sway in one of the states in the South-South, other than the PDP.
Gradually, the APC began eroding the strength of the PDP in the oil-rich region. Next to fall to the APC was Cross River State under former Governor Ben Ayade, before the 2023 general elections. Then came the APC tsunami that saw the PDP losing Delta and Akwa-Ibom States within the space of three months. With the likelihood of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, joining the bandwagon by dumping the umbrella for the broom, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State will be the last man standing of all the PDP governors in the region.
As chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum in the South-South, Gov. Diri feels lonely and abandoned by his former colleagues and his party. While the PDP is battling with internal strife at the national level, the party at the state level in Bayelsa is equally divided, with a faction of the PDP in the state pledging loyalty to the FCT Minister, Nyeson Wike.
Faced with the stark reality of the political chess game in the region, Gov. Diri has been secretly mulling whether to remain in the sinking ship of the PDP or jump ship to the floating APC. Even though the Bayelsa governor has dismissed his planned defection as “mere rumours”, the matter has continued to gain traction in recent weeks.
To douse the speculations about his political future, Gov. Diri had said then that such a decision wouldn’t be a personal decision but a collective one. “If for any reason there has to be a movement, you are the people who will advise me because you voted for me. The decision to move or not will be made based on the interest of the Ijaw nation and Bayelsa State, not my personal interest only. So, do not mind what is trending. When the right time comes, you will hear from us,” he had declared.
However, one voice that has been strident in calling for Gov. Diri to join the APC in the overall interest of the Ijaw nationality has been Udengs Eradiri, a former Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Bayelsa State. His motivation has been that Diri’s defection will ensure the integration of the Ijaw nation into the government at the centre.
Eradiri argued that there was no better time than now for Ijaw politicians to move into the APC, describing the current period as “the time of political realignment.” He warned that missing the opportunity would result in the Ijaws experiencing political alienation.
According to him, Ijaw political leaders need to join the APC to create opportunities for the Ijaws to play crucial roles in the corridors of power. The former president of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) said that such a political masterstroke would attract more infrastructural and manpower development to the Ijaw Nation.
He asserted that the Ijaw nation will gain nothing by being in opposition to the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, but will only be left to wallow in the political wilderness, advising the governor to forgo his personal interests and see the bigger picture as it relates to the Ijaw nation.
“The time for political realignment for the Ijaw Nation is now. The current political equation in Nigeria presently will alienate the Ijaw race if we don’t strategise immediately and take a decision to join the ruling party.
“I am calling on Governor Douye Diri to join the APC now to guarantee the Ijaw Nation a place in decision-making at the centre.
“This is no longer the time for bravado. There is nothing or no point in being in opposition to President Tinubu’s government, as it will only alienate Ijaws politically.
“Our fathers had always aligned with the centre, and Ijaws, no matter how bad, had always had some say in government. But today, we have no voice in the APC-led federal government.
“Ijaws cannot be onlookers. Our resources sustain Nigeria; so we must be strategic to advance the development of Bayelsa and the Ijaw nation,” Eradiri posited.
As if heeding the clarion call by the former IYC president, the media space has recently, been awash with news that Gov. Diri is in advanced talks with top Presidency officials over his switch to the APC. Also, sources said the governor has commenced consultations with critical political stakeholders in the state on the purported defection.
Gov. Diri, it was learnt, has notified National Assembly members from the state and members of the state House of Assembly of his decision to defect and has been sampling their opinions about the move.
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‘’The truth of the matter is that he has discussed the defection plans with National Assembly members, but some of them are not comfortable with the decision. Specifically, Rep. Miteama Obordor (Ogbia Federal Constituency), Rep. Fred Agbedi (Sagbama/ Ekeremor Federal Constituency) and Maria Ebikake (Brass/ Nembe Federal Constituency) are against the move.
“They argue that there is no compelling reason to move now. However, Rep. Oboku Oforji (Yenagoa Federal Constituency) will go wherever former governor and Senator Seriake Dickson directs him to go,” a source privy to the consultations said.
Similarly, 19 out of the 24 PDP House of Assembly members have endorsed Gov. Diri’s defection plan. The state legislators gave their green light through the Speaker, Abraham Ngobere, who was mandated by the governor to sound out his colleagues about his proposed switch to the APC.
Sources disclosed that at a meeting convened by Ngobere at his residence to discuss Gov. Diri’s defection to the APC, the majority of the legislators endorsed the defection move, arguing that it was in the best interest of the state. According to them, the PDP is engulfed in crisis, and therefore can no longer be a platform that can guarantee their political future.
A member of the state House of Assembly, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the meeting took place and that the majority of them have endorsed the decision of the governor to defect to the APC. “Yes, the speaker has called us and we have met. The truth is that we are moving,” the legislator said.
The picture will become clearer in the coming weeks, but it looks quite certain that the PDP is once again on the cusp of losing, if not one but the two remaining state governors it has in the Niger Delta to the rampaging APC.
