As the wave of defections across political parties continues, the All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa State has made political overtures to Governor Douye Diri, prevailing on him to take a cue from his Peoples Democratic Party counterparts and defect to APC.
The APC also urged all its chieftains in the state who cross-carpeted to the PDP in error to reconsider their decision and take advantage of the current gale of defections from the party across the country and return to the ruling party.
The stakeholders of APC in the Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state made the overtures to Diri and other PDP stalwarts during a meeting in Yenagoa, the state capital, on Friday.
Among those present at the meeting were the Deputy Minority Leader of the state House of Assembly representing Ekeremor Constituency 2, Wilson Dauyegha, a former Deputy Governor and senatorial candidate, Peremobowei Ebebi, local government APC chairman, Eniekenemi Mitin and two chieftains of the party from the area, Alex Ekiotenne and Zee Debekeme.
During the meeting, they also passed a unanimous vote of confidence in the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and Dauyegha.
The motion for the confidence vote was moved by Fred Akamu and supported by Nicodemus Anthony, a member of the party executive committee in the local government area.
They stated that Buhari and Sylva were “doing very well for the country and Bayelsa State”, while Dauyegha had been “working assiduously to bring dividends of democracy to the grassroots.”
Ebebi, who lost the December 5, 2020 Bayelsa West senatorial by-election to PDP’s Senator Seriake Dickson, said this was the right time for the governor and previous defectors to move over to the APC as their party (PDP) had become a sinking ship.
While noting that the APC was waxing stronger by the day, he said, “At this point, people should take advantage of the momentum of the gale of defections now.
He said, “I am calling on the governor of this state and other people that have mistakenly crossed over recently to PDP to retrace their steps and come back (to APC) now before it is too late. This is the time.
“Governor Diri is not doing badly but if comes over to the APC, I think he will do better. He should stop welcoming people to the PDP that is a sinking boat. PDP is a sinking boat and nobody should enter a sinking boat no matter the temptation because you will sink along with them.”
The stakeholders declared that Sylva remained the leader of APC in Bayelsa, stressing that there were no factions in Ekeremor LGA and the entire state chapter of the party even as they looked forward to installing a government in the state in 2023.