Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has formally resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ending years of political association with the party under which he rose to prominence.
The development was confirmed on Wednesday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, who announced the resignation in a brief statement.
Alabrah, however, did not disclose the reason for the governor’s decision or clarify whether Diri plans to join another political party, though speculation is rife about possible alignment with either the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
According to the statement, Governor Diri’s resignation was accompanied by that of 23 members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly as well as several commissioners in the State Executive Council.
Diri is currently meeting with members of the State Executive Council and other political stakeholders in Yenagoa, with the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abraham Ingobere, also in attendance.
The latest political shake-up comes just hours after Governor Diri and former President Goodluck Jonathan jointly attended the commissioning of the Best Western Plus Hotel in Yenagoa.
Senator Diri, a long-time PDP stalwart, has had a distinguished career within the party. He previously served as Commissioner under former Governor Jonathan and later as Principal Secretary to former Governor Seriake Dickson, his immediate predecessor.
He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2015 and became Senator for Bayelsa Central in 2019. In 2020, he assumed office as Governor of Bayelsa State following a Supreme Court ruling and was re-elected in 2023 under the PDP platform.
The governor’s resignation marks a major political realignment in Bayelsa State and further reduces the number of PDP governors nationwide, following recent defections by some of the party’s top figures.
