Bayelsa State is currently experiencing a political crisis where Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo is facing an alleged impeachment threat from the House of Assembly following Governor Douye Diri’s formal defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) today, having resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on October 15.
The “tension within the state government” was triggered by Ewhrudjakpo’s refusal to follow the Governor into the APC, which reportedly prompted the House of Assembly, “allegedly under Diri’s influence,” to begin “impeachment proceedings against the deputy governor.”
In an attempt to halt the process, Ewhrudjakpo “approached the Federal High Court in Abuja last week.”
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Governor Diri, speaking on Sunday during the state’s 14th annual thanksgiving service just before his defection, justified his move by stating it “was driven by the best interests of Bayelsa.”
He explained that “Somebody had to take the decision, and I took it on behalf of the state. I took it in the best interest of the state. Some of you might not understand now, but later it will be clear to all.”
Diri stressed that his administration has focused on completing “inherited projects,” initiating new ones, and maintaining “peace and security,” concluding that “Politics is for development, not to kill your brother,” and pointed to the large attendance at the service as “proof of Bayelsa’s unity.”
Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, described Diri’s defection as a “strategic alignment with the centre,” and issued a “veiled reference to Ewhrudjakpo’s decision to remain in the PDP” by “cautioning politicians to consider the implications of disloyalty.”
The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, praised Diri’s “visible developmental strides,” calling him “a godsend to the state,” while Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, through his representative, urged Bayelsans to remain united for the sake of the state’s development.
The core reason cited for Deputy Governor Ewhrudjakpo’s decision to “stayed in PDP” is his “loyalty to former Governor Seriake Dickson,” who is currently representing Bayelsa West in the National Assembly and is considered a political mentor to both Diri and Ewhrudjakpo.
Dickson confirmed to reporters that Diri had “approached him several times to join the APC, but he declined,” leading observers to believe that Ewhrudjakpo’s allegiance “remains firm and may position him as a key PDP contender for the 2027 governorship election.”
The shift in political power is visibly marked by the streets of Yenagoa being “decked in APC colours,” with “giant billboards welcoming Diri to the APC,” and the removal of previous PDP flags from the Government House roundabout.
The last time “PDP insignia were taken down from the Creek Haven roundabout” was in “February 2019, ahead of the planned swearing-in of APC’s Chief David Lyon, whose election was annulled by the Supreme Court a day before the event.”
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