OpenLife Nigeria reports that all is getting set for Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and that moves are also underway by members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly to impeach him.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Either way, what will unfold this week will depend on how both political camps manage the fast-evolving situation.
Governor Diri, who was elected on the platform of the PDP, is currently facing stiff opposition from several National Assembly members from Bayelsa, including his immediate predecessor and political benefactor, Senator Seriake Dickson.
In readiness for the defection, tentatively billed for Tuesday, October 14, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC, led by the party’s National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has mapped out plans to formally receive and welcome Governor Diri into the APC fold.
In Bayelsa, sources disclosed that Diri’s planned defection has been on the cards for several months.
“Diri would have joined APC earlier than now but for the animosity within the leadership of the Bayelsa APC, especially by the group loyal to Chief Timipre Sylva, former Governor and Minister of Petroleum Resources,” one insider revealed.
OpenLife earlier gathered that Diri had consulted former President Goodluck Jonathan and some Bayelsa State elders before deciding to dump the PDP, and that he had secured the backing of the majority of members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly to defect to the APC.
However, the governor’s defection plan is being strongly opposed by a majority of the state’s National Assembly members, who argue that there is no compelling reason for him to join the ruling party.
Two Senators — Henry Seriake Dickson (representing Bayelsa West) and Benson Agadaga — along with three out of the state’s five House of Representatives members, namely Fred Agbedi (Sagbama/Ekeremor), Maria Ebikake (Nembe/Brass), and Mietama Obordor (Ogbia), are said not to be part of the defection move and will not be crossing over with Diri to the APC.
Nevertheless, close associates of the governor insist that he has made up his mind.
Coming after this are fresh plots to impeach the governor should he go ahead with the defection. Those pushing for his removal, according to credible sources, believe that former President Jonathan’s proposed contest for the presidency in 2027 on the PDP platform is a strong reason for Governor Diri to shelve his plan to decamp.
Speaking to OpenLife on Monday morning, a former House of Representatives member stated:
“If Governor Duoye Diri goes ahead to decamp to APC at this time Jonathan is consulting to contest election in 2027, we will make sure he is impeached by the House of Assembly members. We have the numbers and we will make it happen.”
It would be recalled that following a ruling by the court directing that Diri be issued a certificate of return as governor-elect, he was, on Friday, February 14, 2020, sworn in as the Governor of Bayelsa State.
Mr. Diri took over from Seriake Dickson, who had completed his eight-year tenure in office.
He was declared winner of the November 16, 2019 governorship election by the Supreme Court, which annulled the victory of the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), David Lyon.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Mary Odili, sacked Lyon on the grounds that his deputy, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, presented false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The apex court, in the judgment delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko, consequently ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Lyon and his deputy and to declare the party with the highest number of lawful votes and geographical spread as the winner.
Following the directive, the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, formally declared Mr. Diri winner of the election, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s judgment. Subsequently, INEC’s Commissioner for the South-South, May Agbamuche, presented the certificate of return to Diri and his deputy.
In his remarks during the inauguration, Governor Diri expressed gratitude to INEC and the Supreme Court, stating:
“The court is the last hope for the common man. We pray and hope that God will heal our land, Bayelsa State, and Nigeria. For us, God has taken us through a winding road, and it has taught us lessons of reconciliation and love.”