BREAKING: Tension in Bayelsa As Assembly Members Plot to Impeach Deputy Governor for Refusing to Follow Diri to APC
However, tensions are rising as members of the State House of Assembly who defected with the governor are reportedly plotting impeachment proceedings against Ewhrudjakpo
Advertisements
Tension in Bayelsa As Assembly Members Plot to Impeach Deputy Governor for Refusing to Follow Diri to APC
Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has declined to follow Governor Douye Diri in defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC), signalling an emerging political split within the state’s leadership.
Governor Diri announced his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) earlier this week through his spokesperson, Daniel Alabrah, without stating his reasons. However, his deputy and Senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson, have openly rejected the move, insisting they remain firmly in the PDP.
Advertisements
Sources within the party disclosed that Ewhrudjakpo was absent from the State Executive Council (SEC) meeting where Governor Diri announced his defection — a clear indication of his refusal to switch parties.
“Earlier this morning, Diri presided over the SEC meeting, but the deputy governor refused to attend. He didn’t attend because he’s not defecting alongside the governor,” an insider told NEWS WEEK NIGERIA.
Party loyalists aligned with Ewhrudjakpo and Dickson maintained that the PDP remains strong in Bayelsa and across Nigeria, dismissing defection as unnecessary.
Advertisements
“The Deputy Governor, Ewhrudjakpo, and one of our leaders, Seriake Dickson, including other former lawmakers in our party, are still with the PDP — we’re going nowhere,” a PDP chieftain said.
However, tensions are rising as members of the State House of Assembly who defected with the governor are reportedly plotting impeachment proceedings against Ewhrudjakpo. They allegedly plan to cite his refusal to defect as “gross misconduct”.
“We expect that the State Assembly will victimise him for his choice. If he’s victimised for remaining in the PDP, he will have no choice but to do the needful,” another source hinted.
Advertisements
Ewhrudjakpo, a lawyer and former senator, was elected alongside Diri on a joint PDP ticket in 2019 and re-elected in 2023. His resistance to following the governor marks a significant political standoff that could shape Bayelsa’s future power dynamics.
Meanwhile, Senator Seriake Dickson has strongly criticised the wave of defections from the PDP to the ruling APC. Speaking to journalists at the National Assembly in Abuja, Dickson described the trend as “political class suicide”.
“I don’t believe Nigeria should become a one-party state… It makes Nigeria look small, ridicules our democracy, and endangers multiparty politics,” Dickson said.
He confirmed that Diri consulted him before defecting but insisted there was “no compelling reason” to leave the PDP.
“If we fail to save the PDP, then we will decide collectively on the next step, but it certainly should not be joining the APC. A democracy without opposition becomes a dictatorship,” he warned.
With the possibility of impeachment proceedings looming, all eyes are now on Deputy Governor Ewhrudjakpo as the unfolding political drama threatens to reshape Bayelsa’s leadership structure.
