Bayelsa Governor Douye Diri is set to make a political U-turn as he officially defects to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, in what insiders describe as a “power earthquake” in the South-South.
Sources told TheCable that President Bola Tinubu, APC governors, and members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) will personally welcome Diri into the ruling camp at a grand ceremony.
The Bayelsa helmsman, who quietly resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on October 15, has been in secret talks with top APC figures to seal his defection deal.
A party insider said the delay in his announcement was “strategic,” meant to ensure a smooth merger of the PDP bloc into the APC structure in Bayelsa ahead of 2027.
“This is a total realignment of power. The South-South is shifting,” another top source said.
Diri’s switch is the latest in a string of defections that have rattled the PDP, which has lost several big names in recent months, including governors Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), and Peter Mbah (Enugu).
With Diri’s exit, the PDP now controls just eight states, even as rumours are swirling that Taraba’s Agbu Kefas could be next to cross over.
