{"id":3116,"date":"2025-11-04T11:48:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T11:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/?p=3116"},"modified":"2025-11-04T11:48:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T11:48:54","slug":"bayelsa-now-officially-an-apc-state-gov-diri-decamps-to-apc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/?p=3116","title":{"rendered":"BAYELSA NOW OFFICIALLY AN APC STATE; GOV. DIRI DECAMPS TO APC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, has officially defected to Nigeria\u2019s governing party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents of Yenagoa, the capital city of the State, were enthralled on Monday as Vice President Kashim Shettima formally received Governor Diri and his teeming supporters into the APC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VP Shettima described the occasion as one of \u201cthose rare and redemptive moments\u201d in Nigeria\u2019s political history, noting that the Governor has demonstrated the people\u2019s preference for the light of national integration over the shadows of political isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking during the grand reception of Governor Diri and his supporters into the APC fold at the Samson Siasia Sports Stadium in Yenagoa, the Vice President, who represented President Bola Tinubu at the event, welcomed the Governor into the party at the centre, which he described as \u201cthe house of progress\u201d where Diri\u2019s vision belongs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour Excellency, Governor Douye Diri, this gathering is a homecoming party for you. We are here not for a ceremony of convenience but for a celebration of your conviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYours is the story of a leader who has chosen the harder right over the easier wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday, you have shown us that Bayelsa State has chosen the light of national integration over the shadows of political isolation,\u201d he told the Governor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VP Shettima said while President Tinubu has demonstrated repeatedly that politics is not war but the \u201cart of building bridges across rivers of difference,\u201d Governor Diri has shown a profound understanding of that metaphor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe All Progressives Congress is the party of those who believe that progress can only be guaranteed when we stand together, when we answer the call of the people. And, in many ways, Your Excellency, your story mirrors that of your people. You have led with calm dignity, but beneath that calm has flowed a restless commitment to development, to unity, and to peace,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vice President described Diri as \u201ca son of the creeks who has built literal and political bridges across the waters of the Niger Delta.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The VP noted that Governor Diri\u2019s defection from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the governing APC \u201cis a political reunion with a progressive mind whose ideals have always aligned with the philosophy\u201d of the governing party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are not a house of strangers; we are a family bound by the shared belief that Nigeria can, and must, work for all her citizens. And we know you, Your Excellency. We know you as a builder \u2014 a builder of infrastructure, a builder of peace, a builder of trust, a builder of the Bayelsa dream,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vice President assured the Governor that he won\u2019t be judged by where he was coming from but by where he is going to, observing, however, that Diri\u2019s arrival in the APC \u201cis not the depletion of the opposition\u201d but the \u201cconfirmation of the pulse and constitutional clarity of Africa\u2019s largest democracy\u2014the freedom of choice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Family<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noting that Diri and his supporters were now part of a progressive family that \u201cthinks and acts together\u201d, VP Shettima assured the Governor of the party\u2019s support, as he champions what he has always done \u2013 purposeful governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the health reforms that give hope to the sick to the schools that have opened the gates of opportunity to thousands of children, we are here to restore the confidence and dignity of those who have lost faith in government,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VP told the people of Bayelsa that it was their faith in governance that brought their Governor to the APC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThis is about the roof over all our heads \u2014 the roof called Nigeria. We have found out, through experience, that no one prospers under a leaking roof. The house must stand strong, united, and inclusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, Your Excellency, on behalf of our leader and President, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. The leadership of our great party, and the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I welcome you to a family that rewards excellence, a family that respects loyalty, and a family that honours service,\u201d Senator Shettima stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, congratulated Governor Diri for taking what he termed \u201ca bold step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akpabio described Diri\u2019s decision as a defining moment for the Ijaw nation and the entire South-South region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He commended the Bayelsa Governor\u2019s infrastructural strides, especially the dualised roads across Yenagoa, acknowledging that the cost of such projects in a riverine state was enormous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Chairman of the APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, assured Governor Diri and his supporters of the party\u2019s support at the national level, noting that they are at home in the APC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe party\u2019s National Working Committee, millions of members of the APC family in Nigeria, and other stakeholders have welcomed the Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, to the Progressive family,\u201d Yilwatda stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, commended Governor Diri for what he described as \u201ca progressive and courageous decision taken at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Uzodimma noted that the decision to join the government at the centre was a confirmation that Nigerians are beginning to recognise the leadership qualities of President Tinubu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his remarks, Governor Diri explained that his decision to dump the PDP for the APC followed deep consultations with stakeholders across the state, saying internal crises within the PDP, coupled with his desire to protect the interests of Bayelsans, informed his defection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome ignorant people said I had lost my office. There is only one way a Governor can lose his office, by impeachment from the State House of Assembly. And in this case, the Speaker and the majority of members are with me,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diri added that he was not motivated by personal ambition but by the need to align Bayelsa with a national leadership that values development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Governor recalled his long-standing advocacy for the construction of a coastal road linking Lagos to Calabar, a demand championed by the Ijaw Nation since the late 1990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cToday, President Bola Tinubu is the first to take that demand seriously,\u201d he said, adding that the project symbolises inclusion for the people of the Niger Delta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Governor concluded by declaring that Bayelsa\u2019s future lies with the progressives, promising to deliver more development and unity for the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The highlight of the event was the handing over of the party\u2019s flag to the Governor by the National Chairman of APC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Credit: Voice of Nigeria<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, has officially defected to Nigeria\u2019s governing party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. Residents of Yenagoa, the capital city of the State, were enthralled on Monday as Vice President Kashim Shettima formally received Governor Diri and his teeming supporters into the APC. VP Shettima described the occasion as one of \u201cthose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,15,8,5,22,2,18,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-federal-govt","category-home","category-legislature","category-local-govt","category-political-parties","category-state-govt","category-women-in-politics","category-youths"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/G3KI4-gWMAAlVyU-e1760537741377.webp",720,450,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/G3KI4-gWMAAlVyU-e1760537741377-150x150.webp",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/G3KI4-gWMAAlVyU-e1760537741377-300x188.webp",300,188,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/G3KI4-gWMAAlVyU-e1760537741377.webp",640,400,false],"large":["https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/G3KI4-gWMAAlVyU-e1760537741377.webp",640,400,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/G3KI4-gWMAAlVyU-e1760537741377.webp",720,450,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/G3KI4-gWMAAlVyU-e1760537741377.webp",720,450,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Adam","author_link":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/?author=3"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, has officially defected to Nigeria\u2019s governing party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. Residents of Yenagoa, the capital city of the State, were enthralled on Monday as Vice President Kashim Shettima formally received Governor Diri and his teeming supporters into the APC. VP Shettima described the occasion as one of \u201cthose…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3116"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3121,"href":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116\/revisions\/3121"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roadto2027.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}