National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, has charged Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri to deliver massive votes for the ruling party and President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
He gave the charge on Monday during an official ceremony in Yenagoa, where Diri was formally received into the APC.
“Take this broom as a symbol of authority and unity. Sweep out the PDP and ensure all votes are swept into the APC in 2027. We must secure a strong percentage of votes in Bayelsa,” Yilwatda told Diri while presenting the party’s flag to him.
He declared Bayelsa a critical state for the ruling party, urging the governor to strengthen the APC’s base across the region.
“Today, Bayelsa State is APC. Governor Diri is now the leader of our party in the state. The National Working Committee will liaise with him on all Bayelsa matters, and I will hold him responsible for the APC’s progress there,” he said.
Vice President Kashim Shettima led top APC figures to the ceremony, which drew large crowds of supporters waving party flags and chanting slogans.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Governor Dapo Abiodun (Ogun State), Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo State), Governor Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta State), Governor Hope Uzodimma (Imo State), and Governor Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom State) were also in attendance.
READ ALSO: [UPDATED] Shettima, Akpabio, APC Govs In Bayelsa As Diri Joins Ruling Party
The event marks a major political shift in Bayelsa, a state long considered a stronghold of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Governor Diri resigned from the PDP on 15 October 2025, following extensive consultations.
“After extensive consultations, today, 15 October 2025, I wish to notify you that, in keeping with the extant protocols, I, Governor Douye Diri, do hereby resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party,” he announced at the Executive Council Chamber in Yenagoa.
Although he cited “obvious reasons” for his resignation at the Council Chamber, Diri did not initially disclose the party he would be joining.
He later confirmed that all local government chairmen in Bayelsa would move with him to his new platform.
His decision received the backing of 23 members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Abraham Ngobere.
Diri’s move comes amid a wave of defections by key opposition figures from the PDP to the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
This year alone, the PDP has lost at least four sitting governors, Douye Diri (Bayelsa), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), and Peter Mbah (Enugu).
Amid the defections, the PDP is battling internal leadership tussles.
Over the weekend, National Chairman Umar Damagum and members of the National Working Committee suspended key officers, including National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu and National Organising Secretary Umar Bature.
In a swift counter, Anyanwu’s faction suspended Damagum, National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, and other top officials.
On Monday, the acting National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, resumed at the party’s secretariat, while Damagum and his loyalists stayed away.
With less than two years to the 2027 elections, political realignments are intensifying as parties seek to consolidate their influence and secure key strongholds across the country.
