In a stakeholders forum meeting held in Asaba, the Delta State capital, the Bayelsa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Bola Tinubu to steer clear of any alliance with Governor Douye Diri.
In a statement titled ‘Beware of Governor Duoye Diri, He’s a Serial Betrayer. Bayelsa APC Cannot Afford His Politics of Betrayal, Divisiveness and Greed,’ signed by Chief Samuel Yousuo and Elder Ebigoni Gabriel, chairman, and secretary of the stakeholders respectively, the forum warned Tinubu against any association with Governor Diri.
The stakeholders claimed there was an “unholy alliance” between Diri and the aides of the president. They cautioned that Diri, whom they described as a “baggage,” had no electoral value.
According to the statement, “The plea could not have come at a better time than now, as we observed the unholy romance between Governor Diri and aides of the President, coordinated by your Chief of Staff, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila. The romance and plan by Diri was to decamp to APC before the 2027 general election.”
“Bayelsa APC does not need Diri,” the statement continued, “we are capable of winning without him if the President supports our reconciliatory efforts.”
The stakeholders alleged that Diri, who worked against President Tinubu’s interest in the 2023 presidential polls, was already working with some Northern PDP elements for the 2027 election. They suggested that Diri’s recent overtures towards the Presidency might be linked to the ongoing 2023 Bayelsa governorship poll being disputed at the state Election Petition Tribunal.
Reacting to the allegations, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Diri, Daniel Alaibrah, dismissed them as baseless. He said, “This is the voice of Jacob and the hand of Esau. Some persons are behind this mischief. In any case, who are these persons that think they can dictate who the President goes into an alliance with?”
