October 26, (THEWILL) — For Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State, resigning from the Peoples Democratic Party has become an easier affair than consummating his defection to the All Progressives Party, APC.
The fanfare that greeted his resignation a fortnight ago has faded into silence as negotiations with the APC have stalled. Filling the void is a groundswell of increasing resentment and opposition from key stakeholders of his former party and the unease among those in his yet to be adopted party, forcing him to travel abroad for some rest.
THEWILL gathered that shortly after his resignation, the governor had approached the National Headquarters of the APC to make arrangement for his reception into the party, but he was told to discuss with the leadership of the local chapter in the state and harmonise positions with them.
Minister of State for Petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and his predecessor, Timipre Sylva are the main leaders in the state chapter of the ACP.
As of the time of going to press, no meeting had taken place between representatives of Bayelsa APC and the governor.
According to a source within the APC in the state, many members of the governors’ team who governed with him have already joined the APC, but the Diri is still biding his time. “He is yet to discuss with our principals, which we understand the National Headquarters wants him to do. He wants the National Working Committee of the party to dissolve our exco and set up a caretaker committee. But the question is if the party congresses ought to start in December, why is the request coming now and what is the hurry to dissolve an elected local exco when the congress is just barely two months away? That is what has stalled the defection by the governor to our party. As far as those of us in the party committee and exco are concerned the governor can move in anytime and we would welcome him.”
The source further said that as the body known to law, it is only the National Working Committee, NWC, that can set any precondition for Governor Diri. He said that even if a serving governor is the recognised leader of the party in his state, the fact that Governor Diri was defecting from the PDP to the APC, means that he has to engage in some negotiations with those who control the party structure in the state.
POWER TUSSLE WITHIN APC
Further checks show that the stalled defection by the governor is being caused by the internal struggle for control of the APC in the state. Until the governor’s expected defection, the leadership crisis within the party in the state has been low- keyed. His coming has altered the power equation.
While some say former Governor Sylva controls the party structure in the state by virtue of his 2015 and 2023 re-election campaigns for the governorship and his ministerial appointment, during which the party made its first appearance in the state, enabling him to consolidate power as party leader, others say that the Minister of State for Petroleum, Lokpobiri, is the leader, by virtue of his position as a serving minister.
This subtle difference between who controls the party structure and who is leader of the party in the state is now a source of friction within the APC in the state. Thinking that he may be trapped into a compromise by either of them, Governor Diri has refused to heed the advice “by the powers that be to discuss and negotiate with the leaders of the party in the state,” according to the source.
This is the reason Governor Diri is demanding the dissolution of the state exco and the setting up of a caretaker committee before he can defect formally.
According to sources, all the parties to the arrangement may have to wait till December when the APC holds its elective national convention and the state exco gets news from national officials.
“When the governor’s counterparts in Delta, Akwa Ibom and Enugu States (Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Governor Eno Umo and Governor Peter Mbah, respectively), defected to the APC, the party excos in those states were not dissolved. The defectors joined the party in a group,” the party source told THEWILL, adding, “We may have to wait till December after the convention to sort out matters.”
HANGING IN LIMBO
This yawning gap in the governor’s party affiliation has further deepened tension among the political elite in the state. A government source, who confided in this newspaper, however dismissed any perceived crisis, offhandedly.
“ We understand that there is currently no provision for independent candidates in Nigeria, but this is a situation that will be corrected very soon. Those who feel aggrieved by the governor’s decision can challenge him in court. By the time the suit is filed and heard by the Federal High court to the Appeal Court and Supreme Court, the matter would have been solved politically,” he said, emphasising that finding a new political platform is not a problem for Governor Diri.
He confirmed that the governor has travelled out of the state but insisted that the trip was unconnected with the current political situation in the state.
STALEMATE
Meanwhile, the ongoing political situation has further weakened the governor’s supporters, particularly in the State House of Assembly, who had wanted to move against opposition within the PDP, such as the Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo and a lawmaker, who defied the pressure to resign from the party alongside Governor Diri, members of his cabinet, 23 members of the House of Assembly, eight local government chairmen and a Senator on October 16, 2025.
In the heat of the tension created by the governor-led resignation from the PDP, the deputy governor had been threatened with impeachment for choosing to stay put. All that threat has faded in the background for now.
Moreover, ex-governor of the state and now a Senator representing Bayelsa West at the National Assembly, Sierake Dickson and many state PDP stakeholders, who have vehemently criticised the resignation and affirmed their loyalty to the PDP, have provided a safety net for the deputy governor.
THEWILL gathered that Ewhrudjakpor is a political godson of Senator Dickson, Diri’s predecessor and he has pledged his loyalty to his godfather and the PDP, which he still considers a grassroots party in the state.
For this, Governor Diri did not invite his deputy to the public announcement of his resignation at the Government House about 10 days ago. But the governor seems helpless to move against his deputy.
Fearing that moving against his deputy would plunge the state into political crisis and affect his plan as he is yet to formally announce his defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC, the governor is said to be wary of an immediate backlash from his supporters at the the grassroots level, many of who are still divided over his decision, which they consider too sudden.
Apart from his loyalty to Senator Dickson, Ewhrudjakpo is said to enjoy the support of the party’s followers at the grassroots level as he is seen as an anchor for their opposition to Diri’s planned defection.
Governor Diri and Ewhrudjakpo are both serving their second tenure in office together. They were elected on a joint PDP ticket in 2019 and assumed office in 2020. They were re-elected under the same platform in 2023.
Ewhrudjakpo, a lawyer and seasoned politician, served as the lawmaker representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District between 2019 and 2020 in the 9th National Assembly. He has also held various leadership positions, including Chairman of the Nigerian International Coastal Border Platform, which focuses on harmonising maritime laws and combating piracy and other maritime-related crimes.
The stalemated political situation is said to have left both parties in a wait- and-look position.
Amos Esele is the Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
