{"id":169688,"date":"2025-07-16T09:12:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T08:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/bayelsa-group-urges-gov-diri-to-dump-pdp-for-apc"},"modified":"2025-07-16T10:18:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T09:18:19","slug":"bayelsa-group-urges-gov-diri-to-dump-pdp-for-apc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/bayelsa-group-urges-gov-diri-to-dump-pdp-for-apc","title":{"rendered":"Bayelsa: Group urges Gov Diri to dump PDP for APC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>A political pressure group, the Concerned Bayelsa Stakeholders Forum, CBSF, has called on Governor Douye Diri to leave the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and join the All Progressives Congress, APC.<\/p>\n<p>The group\u2019s convener, Mr. Wisdom Ikuli, made the call on Tuesday in Yenagoa, encouraging stakeholders to back efforts to align Bayelsa more closely with the Federal Government.<\/p>\n<p>Ikuli, who also serves as Governor Diri\u2019s Technical Adviser on Print Media, explained that the CBSF is a non-partisan body comprising members from diverse political affiliations, including non-indigenes.<\/p>\n<p>He stressed the need for Bayelsa to promptly align with the APC, claiming that numerous PDP members had allegedly colluded to deprive Bayelsa and the Ijaw people of the Presidency in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>He claimed that there are plans to take advantage of the PDP\u2019s internal disputes and ongoing court cases to disqualify candidates who emerge from the party ahead of future elections.<\/p>\n<p>Ikuli emphasized that Bayelsa is now the only PDP-controlled state in the South-South and warned that it is dominated by a handful of individuals who could pose electoral threats ahead of 2027.<\/p>\n<p>He disclosed that the CBSF would soon launch daily street rallies in Yenagoa to press Governor Diri to consider defecting to the ruling APC.<\/p>\n<p>Ikuli maintained that the governor\u2019s defection is crucial for Bayelsa\u2019s interests and should be regarded as both non-negotiable and imperative.<\/p>\n<p>He recalled that prominent Ijaw leaders such as Chiefs Dappa-Biriye and Melford Okilo had advocated aligning with the centre to drive development, given the region\u2019s geographic isolation.<\/p>\n<p>Ikuli said past alignment with the PDP, while it ruled nationally, enabled Bayelsa to produce both Vice President and President in Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.<\/p>\n<p>He lamented that the Ijaws are now sidelined from key federal positions such as the Presidency, Vice Presidency, and Service Chiefs, which has diminished their political influence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn spite of their population and contribution, Ijaws remain marginalised due to lack of alignment with the ruling party,\u201d Ikuli added.<\/p>\n<p>He argued that the Ijaws, who contribute over 65 percent of Nigeria\u2019s oil wealth, have become powerless because they are not aligned with the Federal Government.<\/p>\n<p>Ikuli explained Nigeria\u2019s North-South power rotation system, stressing that the South must complete its eight-year turn under President Bola Tinubu\u2019s current administration.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that Tinubu is committed to strengthening the South and has appointed several Ijaw sons and daughters into key positions.<\/p>\n<p>Ikuli appreciated Tinubu\u2019s appointments, including Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri as Oil Minister and Chief Samuel Ogbuku as NDDC Managing Director.<\/p>\n<p>He also mentioned Chief Ebitimi Amgbare as NDDBA Managing Director and Preye Aganaba as Executive Director at the South South Development Commission.<\/p>\n<p>Ikuli thanked the President for approving the federal takeover of the Nembe-Brass Road Second Phase, a key project linking Bayelsa to the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n<p>He said this development shows Tinubu\u2019s commitment to Bayelsa and urged the governor to show solidarity by joining Southern APC governors.<\/p>\n<p>Ikuli further stated that aligning with the Federal Government is essential to actualize the Agge Seaport project, which would stimulate economic growth and secure prosperity for the state.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. A political pressure group, the Concerned Bayelsa Stakeholders Forum, CBSF, has called on Governor Douye Diri to leave the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and join the All Progressives Congress, APC. The group\u2019s convener, Mr. Wisdom Ikuli, made the call on Tuesday in Yenagoa, encouraging stakeholders to back efforts to align Bayelsa more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":169687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,16],"tags":[773,1415,254,65],"class_list":["post-169688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-parties","tag-bayelsa","tag-diri","tag-nigeria","tag-pdp"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bayelsa: Group urges Gov Diri to dump PDP for APC - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A political pressure group, the Concerned Bayelsa Stakeholders Forum, CBSF, has called on Governor Douye Diri to leave t ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/bayelsa-group-urges-gov-diri-to-dump-pdp-for-apc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bayelsa: Group urges Gov Diri to dump PDP for APC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A political pressure group, the Concerned Bayelsa Stakeholders Forum, CBSF, has called on Governor Douye Diri to leave t ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/bayelsa-group-urges-gov-diri-to-dump-pdp-for-apc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-16T08:12:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-16T09:18:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/07\/sm_1752645008.718938.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"721\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/bayelsa-group-urges-gov-diri-to-dump-pdp-for-apc#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/bayelsa-group-urges-gov-diri-to-dump-pdp-for-apc\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Bayelsa: Group urges Gov Diri to dump PDP for APC\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-16T08:12:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-16T09:18:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/bayelsa-group-urges-gov-diri-to-dump-pdp-for-apc\"},\"wordCount\":535,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/bayelsa-group-urges-gov-diri-to-dump-pdp-for-apc#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/07\/sm_1752645008.718938.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Bayelsa\",\"Diri\",\"Nigeria\",\"PDP\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Parties\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/bayelsa-group-urges-gov-diri-to-dump-pdp-for-apc#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/bayelsa-group-urges-gov-diri-to-dump-pdp-for-apc\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/bayelsa-group-urges-gov-diri-to-dump-pdp-for-apc\",\"name\":\"Bayelsa: Group urges Gov Diri to dump PDP for APC - 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