A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Hon. Yekini Nabena, has said that Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, will not bring any value to the party. He recently alleged that Diri is trying to destabilise the current leadership structure to have his way.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Yekini revealed that Diri is looking to defect to the party to destroy APC’s existing leadership before jumping ship.
According to him, Governor Diri’s planned defection would not yield the type of political impact he might be anticipating because he will never be able to take control of the party.
He accused loyalists of the governor of stoking arrest rumours linking the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, with regard to an alleged coup plot.
He said, “Let me put it on record that we are not saying the Governor should not join the APC, it is a democracy and he has right to join any party. The fact we will not take 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.
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.
The plan is to destroy the existing organs and prominent members of the party before he (Governor Diri) formerly decamps to APC on Monday.
But up till now, we have not found an answer to the question of what Governor Douye Diri is bringing to the APC. This is a Governor that his Deputy is not defecting with him, hence he is plotting to impeach the Deputy Governor,” he said.
He further described the arrest rumours as a deliberate attempt to smear Ogbuku’s reputation and destabilise the existing leadership structure of the APC in Bayelsa State.
He concluded by saying that the Bayelsa governor will join the APC empty-handed since most key figures in the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, are not defecting with him.
“This is a Governor that even some State House of Assembly members have rejected. About 90 per cent of the serving National Assembly members, including Senator Dickson and other high-profile lawmakers, are not on the same page with him.
This is a Governor who is not in control of his local constituency, not to talk of his entire Senatorial District. We ask Governor Douye Diri again to tell Nigerians who is running after him or what is he running after?” he added.
