A political pressure group, the Concerned Bayelsa Stakeholders Forum (CBSF), has called on Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that alignment with the central government is critical to the political survival and economic prosperity of the Ijaw nation.

 

Speaking at a press conference in Yenagoa on Monday, the convener of the forum, Wisdom Ikuli, said the group is organizing a rally to mobilize public support for what it calls a “necessary and strategic move” by Governor Diri to join the APC.

 

Ikuli commended Diri’s developmental strides in Bayelsa and emphasized that the state would benefit more if it aligned with the APC-led Federal Government. He argued that support from Abuja could help address the state’s challenging geography and boost infrastructural development.

 

Referencing political history, Ikuli cited the role of Ijaw political leaders such as High Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye and Chief Melford Okilo, who previously aligned the Ijaw nation with the PDP—a move that contributed to the rise of an Ijaw man, Goodluck Jonathan, to the presidency. However, he lamented that the Ijaw people are now politically isolated.

 

“The Ijaws have been relegated and rendered politically and economically redundant because we are not aligned with the government at the centre,” Ikuli said. “This is despite being the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria and contributing over 65% of the nation’s oil and gas resources.”

 

 

 

Ikuli further claimed that the PDP is being covertly hijacked by forces working to frustrate Bayelsa’s political future, including the possibility of nullifying PDP candidates in the 2027 general elections through legal means.

 

He warned that continued opposition to the APC at the national level could expose the Ijaw nation to more political marginalization. According to him, Bayelsa is currently the only South-South state not governed by the APC.

 

While dismissing the coalition of opposition forces as “a gathering of those who denied Bayelsa a second term at the presidency in 2015,” Ikuli insisted that the majority of Bayelsans and Ijaw people support Diri’s defection.

 

“This coalition can never be an option. We appeal to Governor Diri to defect to the APC to demonstrate Southern solidarity with other Southern governors who are already working with President Tinubu,” he said.

 

 

 

Ikuli noted that several Bayelsans have already been appointed into key positions under the Tinubu administration and emphasized that President Tinubu is likely to complete his constitutionally allowed two terms in office.

 

The CBSF’s call has added fuel to ongoing political speculation in Bayelsa ahead of the 2027 elections. While Governor Diri has yet to comment publicly on the matter, the push for realignment with the APC reflects a growing belief among some stakeholders that political survival may now depend on proximity to power at the centre.