JUST IN: Tension in Bayelsa as Governor Diri Accused of Being Behind Arrest Rumours of NDDC MD

Tension in Bayelsa as Governor Diri Accused of Being Behind Arrest Rumours of NDDC MD

 

Tension is brewing in Bayelsa State following accusations that Governor Douye Diri is allegedly behind rumours about the arrest of the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, over an alleged coup plot.

 

The claim was made by a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, who accused the Bayelsa governor of orchestrating the false reports to tarnish Ogbuku’s reputation and destabilize the APC structure in the state ahead of his purported defection to the ruling party.

 

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday, Nabena alleged that Governor Diri’s camp planted the rumours as part of a broader political game plan to weaken existing APC leadership in Bayelsa before his official defection, said to be scheduled for Monday.

 

Recent media reports had suggested that Dr. Ogbuku was arrested in connection with a supposed coup plot — claims Nabena described as “malicious and politically motivated.”

 

“Let me put it on record that we are not saying the Governor should not join the APC — it’s a democracy, and he has the right to join any party,” Nabena stated. “What we will not accept is for him to destroy some people and the existing leadership of the APC in Bayelsa State because he wants to take full control of the party.”

 

The APC chieftain further alleged that the Diri camp was deliberately spreading misinformation to discredit key figures within the party and create internal rifts.

 

“We have traced the recent happenings in Bayelsa State to Governor Douye Diri’s camp, especially the arrest rumours of NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku,” he said. “The plan is to destroy the existing organs and prominent members of the party before he formally defects to the APC on Monday.”

 

Nabena questioned the political value of Diri’s planned defection, arguing that most influential figures within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa — including his deputy and some lawmakers — are not moving with him.

 

“This is a governor whose deputy is not defecting with him and who is even plotting to impeach the deputy,” Nabena claimed. “Even some members of the State House of Assembly have rejected him. About 90 per cent of the serving National Assembly members, including Senator Dickson, are not on the same page with him.”

 

He further dismissed Governor Diri’s political influence, insisting that the governor lacks control even in his local constituency, let alone his senatorial district.

 

Nabena, however, urged the public to disregard the arrest rumours against Dr. Ogbuku, describing them as baseless. He noted that many influential politicians within the Bayelsa PDP still support Ogbuku’s leadership and could align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda through the NDDC boss in the near future.

 

Neither Governor Diri nor his aides had issued a formal response to the allegations at the time of filing this report.