YENOGOA/Nigeria: In the run-up to the highly anticipated November 11th, 2023 governorship election in Bayelsa State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) finds itself embroiled in internal strife, with multiple factions vying for supremacy.
As the dust settles, it is clear that the political battleground will primarily feature incumbent Governor Douye Diri, who seeks re-election under the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and former Minister of State for Petroleum and ex-Governor of the state, Chief Timpreye Sylva.
Governor Diri appears to be capitalizing on the internal discord within the APC to consolidate his position and gain favor among the electorate. Reports suggest that he is working diligently to persuade disenchanted APC members in the state to align with him, potentially securing his second term in office.
Insiders have revealed that Governor Diri has reached out to influential figures within the APC, particularly those who may have grievances with Chief Sylva. Notably, Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and the 2019 APC governorship candidate, David Lyon, are allegedly covertly supporting Governor Diri’s re-election bid, distancing themselves from Chief Sylva’s campaign activities.
Efforts to mediate and reconcile the warring factions within the divided Bayelsa APC, led by National Chairman Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje and other senior party leaders, have thus far yielded no tangible results.
Governor Diri is reportedly exploiting this division to further fragment the opposition’s ranks, offering substantial concessions to key APC figures ahead of the upcoming poll. Speculation is rife that he has pledged to appoint Lokpobiri as governor, with Lyon as deputy governor, should they abandon Sylva and join forces with him to secure victory on November 11th.
One insider disclosed, “Governor Diri has not only promised 50 slots of Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) each to Lokpobiri and Lyon, but he has also assured them of significant influence over decision-making processes.” This alliance raises the possibility that both Lokpobiri and Lyon may ultimately defect to the PDP once Lokpobiri completes his term as a minister in the Tinubu administration, positioning themselves for the 2026 battle to succeed Diri.
Nevertheless, Governor Diri faces challenges from his predecessor, Senator Seriake Dickson, who has notably distanced himself from the current administration and withheld his support. Efforts by the PDP national leadership to broker a truce between Diri and Dickson have so far proven fruitless, leaving a lingering sense of alienation and marginalization.
Sources suggest that Senator Dickson is uncomfortable with Diri’s re-election campaign, especially his engagement with opposition elements, which has seemingly excluded him from the process.
In a bid to secure broader support, Governor Diri has not limited his outreach to the APC alone but has also extended promises of political succession to key figures within his own party, the PDP. Senator Benson Agadaga, representing Bayelsa East, is among those who have received such assurances, as well as Hon. Mitema Obodor, the Director-General of his campaign council, and Robert Enogha, a former commissioner and two-time member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly. All three hail from Ogbia, the home base of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
This strategic move to secure succession pledges from Ogbia leaders appears to have won the support of former President Jonathan, who is now backing Governor Diri’s re-election bid based on the promise that one of his kinsmen from Ogbia will succeed him after his second term in office.
