Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, will formally defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, marking one of the most dramatic political realignments in the South-South region since 2023.
According to information obtained by TheCable, President Bola Tinubu, APC governors, and members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) are expected to officially receive Diri into the ruling party at a ceremony in Abuja.
Sources close to the development revealed that Diri, who resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on October 15, has been engaged in weeks of discreet negotiations with key APC figures to finalise his defection plan.
A top APC insider told TheCable that the delay in Diri’s formal announcement was “to ensure seamless integration of the PDP bloc into the APC’s Bayelsa structure” and to “avoid internal friction” ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The source said, “The governor wanted everything to be well-aligned before declaring openly. Both parties have been negotiating the sharing formula to ensure mutual understanding and avoid post-defection conflicts.”
Diri’s planned defection represents a significant political breakthrough for the APC in the oil-rich South-South zone, traditionally a stronghold of the opposition PDP.
The PDP has suffered a series of high-profile defections in recent months, weakening its presence both at the national and state levels.
Apart from Diri, at least three other governors, Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), and Peter Mbah (Enugu) have crossed over to the APC in the past year.
The exodus has reduced the PDP’s governorship count to eight, sparking growing fears within the party of a complete collapse of its political dominance in key southern states.
Insiders also suggest that Agbu Kefas, governor of Taraba State, may be the next to dump the PDP for the APC, further deepening the crisis within Nigeria’s main opposition party.
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