Bayelsa state governor, Duoye Diri, has officially defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The governor was welcomed into the party by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, and some high-powered APC delegation, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio and governors Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), and Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom).
Diri’s official defection makes him the fourth PDP governor to join the APC this year. Other PDP governors who have joined the ruling APC in 2025 are Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta state), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom state), and Peter Mbah (Enugu state).
The governor had earlier resigned from the PDP on October 15, 2025.
He said, “Somebody had to take the decision, and I took it on behalf of the state, in the best interest of Bayelsa. Some of you might not understand now, but later it will be clear to all.
“When we came in as a government, we ensured that most uncompleted projects were completed and new ones were initiated. That alone is enough reason to thank God.
“The peace and security we enjoy today are also reasons for gratitude. Politics should be for development, not to destroy your brother. The gathering here is a testimony to the unity in our state.”
Speaking at his welcoming event, Diri said he took the decision to join the APC to save Bayelsa from sharing in the fate of what he described as a dying opposition party.
“We tried all we could to save the PDP, but to no avail. Undertakers were very busy to bury the party,” he said.
“After seeing that the undertakers wanted to bury the PDP, I never wanted my state to be buried alongside it. So after consultations with our leaders, it was incumbent on me as governor to make a decision.”
Diri declared that his defection represented more than a personal political move, calling it a wider “Ijaw realignment.”
“This defection is not a Bayelsa defection. It is the Ijaw nation defecting to the APC,” he stated.