Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, on Monday gave reason for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, saying his action was meant to protect Bayelsa from sinking with what he described as the “terminal decline” of the PDP.
Diri stated this on Monday during a grand reception held for him at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex in Yenagoa, which was transformed into an APC rally ground with banners, flags, stage platforms and mounted speakers.
Diri, who announced his resignation from the PDP on October 15, said he worked for years to stabilise the party, but those he described as “undertakers” had taken hold of its structures.
“We tried all we could to save the PDP but to no avail. Undertakers were very busy to bury the PDP,” he said.
“After seeing that the undertakers wanted to bury the PDP, I never wanted my state to be buried alongside with PDP
“So knowing what was going on, after all my consultations with all the leaders, it was incumbent on me as governor to make a decision,” Diri said, just as he also added that the defection was not just a Bayelsa political shift, but a wider Ijaw realignment.
“This defection is not a Bayelsa defection. It is the Ijaw nation defecting to APC,” Diri declared.
It was gathered that 5,000-capacity arena where the event was held and its surrounding spaces were filled to capacity, as supporters, cultural groups, youth blocks and women’s groups marched from different parts of the state capital waving APC insignia and chanting solidarity lines to celebrate the governor’s switch.
