Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), marking another blow to Nigeria’s main opposition party amid growing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Diri announced his resignation on Wednesday during an executive meeting at the Bayelsa State Government House in Yenagoa but did not reveal which political party he plans to join. “My decision is for an obvious reason,” he said briefly, without elaborating further.
The governor’s move was backed by 23 members of the Bayelsa House of Assembly led by Speaker Abraham Ngobere. Ten lawmakers attended the meeting, while Diri clarified that absent members were away on official assignments. The governor also revealed that all local government chairmen across the state would move with him.
The Bayelsa State House of Assembly is dominated by the PDP, holding 20 of the 24 seats, with three belonging to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and one to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Speaker Ngobere, aligning with Diri, said the PDP “no longer has the ability to present a presidential candidate and win the 2027 election.”
Diri’s defection comes just a day after Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah left the PDP for the ruling APC, citing the need to “better serve the interests of the people.”
In a broadcast on Tuesday, Mbah said, “This is not a betrayal; it is also not abandoning. It is about carrying the people’s mandate on a platform that will best serve them.”
Their exits follow earlier defections by Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Akwa Ibom’s Umo Eno, both of whom joined the APC with their state officials.
Political analysts say the trend underscores the PDP’s deepening internal fractures and the APC’s growing consolidation ahead of the next election cycle.
The PDP, however, expressed disappointment over the defections, calling them “unfortunate” and accusing the defectors of abandoning the party’s collective struggle for Nigeria’s democracy.
