The Technical Adviser to Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri on Print Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Wisdom Oniekpar Ikuli, has confirmed the possibility of an imminent defection of the governor to the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the move as “non-negotiable and sacrosanct.”
Ikuli, who is also the convener of Concerned Bayelsa Stakeholders, made the statement during a world press conference held in Yenagoa on Tuesday.
He appealed to political stakeholders across the state to support the governor’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing what he called a betrayal by key actors within the party.
According to him, “there is urgent need for Bayelsa to join the APC, the party in power,” alleging that the PDP is now dominated by individuals “who conspired to deny Bayelsa State and indeed the entire Ijaw Nation a second term at the Presidency in 2015.”
Ikuli claimed that there were already concluded plans within the PDP to frustrate its candidates ahead of future elections, using internal crises and legal battles as cover. He also warned that Bayelsa, currently the only PDP-controlled state in the South-South, risks further political isolation if it does not align with the centre.
“Bayelsa State is presently standing alone as the only PDP state in the whole of South-South. The greatest challenge is the hijack of the PDP by few individuals who have set up traps for Bayelsa citizens in 2027,” he said.
He disclosed that the Concerned Bayelsa Stakeholders would soon begin a daily rally in Yenagoa to urge Governor Diri to make the move to the APC.
“His move is non-negotiable and sacrosanct,” he declared.
Referencing the political counsel of past Ijaw leaders, Ikuli quoted:
“Our fathers, High Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye and Chief (Sen.) Dr Melford Obiene Okilo admonished the Ijaw Nation to always align with the government at the centre largely due to our distance from the centre and our difficult terrain in order to attract development to our area.”
He lamented the current lack of Ijaw representation in top federal positions and called on the governor to follow the example of other southern leaders in supporting President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“Ijaws have been relegated and rendered politically and economically redundant and impotent because we are not with the government at the centre.”
Ikuli praised the president’s appointments of Bayelsa indigenes into key federal roles, including Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Chief Samuel Ogbuku, Chief Ebitimi Amgbare, and Hon. Preye Aganaba, as a sign of goodwill toward the Ijaw people.
He also acknowledged the federal government’s intervention on the Nembe-Brass Road and urged alignment with the APC to achieve major developmental goals such as the Agge Deep Seaport project.
“One of the greatest priorities in the alliance with the centre should be the actualization of the Agge Seaport that will help to boost the state economy and also bring about unimaginable transformation and prosperity,” he said.
