A political storm is brewing in Bayelsa as a top APC chieftain has accused Governor Douye Diri of orchestrating a false coup allegation to weaken the All Progressives Congress in the state.
The former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Hon. Yekini Nabena, made the claim while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday.
He said Governor Diri has been working behind the scenes to cause confusion in the party ahead of his planned defection.
According to him, the Bayelsa governor is preparing to join the APC on Monday but is allegedly trying to “destabilise the existing APC leadership in the state” before doing so.
Nabena insisted that key PDP figures in Bayelsa are not joining Diri in the move, making his expected defection less significant than recent defections witnessed in Delta and Enugu.
He argued that Diri would be “joining APC empty-handed,” claiming party leaders across Bayelsa have rejected him.
The APC chieftain also accused Diri of being linked to recent reports alleging the arrest of NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, over a supposed coup plot.
He urged Nigerians to ignore what he described as manufactured stories designed to discredit top APC stakeholders.
A section of the media had circulated rumours that Ogbuku was picked up by military intelligence for funding an attempted coup, a report later dismissed by military authorities.
Nabena warned that the APC would not allow its internal structure to be torn down because a sitting governor wants to take over the party.
He said, “We are not saying he cannot join. It is democracy. The issue is trying to pull people down and break our party structure before coming in.”
The former party spokesman further alleged that several powerful PDP members in Bayelsa are loyal to Ogbuku and would only move to the ruling party through him, not because of Diri.
He also claimed that Diri lacks control in his constituency and across major political blocs in the state.
Nabena described Diri’s planned crossover as “a move driven by selfish interest,” insisting the governor has nothing to offer the APC beyond internal crisis.
