Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has resigned his membership from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his spokesperson, Daniel Alabra, confirmed to Premium Times on Tuesday, 15 October.
While the spokesperson confirmed the resignation, he noted that Governor Diri “has not joined any other party yet.”
Political Context and Implications
Mr Diri’s resignation significantly impacts the PDP’s presence, particularly in the South-South region:
- South-South Shift: Following the defection of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in June, Governor Diri was one of the last PDP governors remaining in the South-South. His exit leaves Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State as the sole remaining PDP governor in the region.
- National Depletion: Nationally, Mr Diri’s resignation further depletes the number of PDP governors in Nigeria to eight.
- Pressure to Defect: The resignation comes just hours after Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State also left the PDP for the APC. The report notes that most governors who have defected cited the party’s protracted leadership crisis as the reason for their decision. If Governor Diri eventually moves to the APC, the ruling party would control five out of the six states in the South-South geo-political zone.
