•As Assembly plans Ewhrudjakpo’s impeachment
The deputy governor of Bayelsa State, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo and the Senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson have rejected defection plans of the governor, Duoye Diri, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The duo, and other bigwigs in the People Democratic Party (PDP) explained that the party still remains biggest opposition party in the country, and that the party is still intact in the oil-rich State to warrant leaving the party.
Sahel Standard reports that Diri, who announced his membership resignation from the PDP through his spokesman, Daniel Alabrah, did not give details on why the governor resigned from the party.
Allies of the two PDP leaders, who spoke to our Correspondent in separate interviews, said there is no reason for any PDP leader or member to leave the party that has helped them to achieve top positions in politics.
“The deputy governor, Ewhrudjakpo and one of our leaders, Seriake Dickson, including other former lawmakers in our party are still with the PDP, we’re going nowhere,” one of the sources told our Correspondents in a telephone interview.
Another source said the deputy governor refused to attend the State Council Executive meeting where Diri announced his resignation from the PDP, though he’s yet to announce the political party he’s defecting to.
He said, “Earlier this morning, Diri presided over the SEC meeting but the deputy governor refused to attend. He didn’t attend because he’s not defecting alongside with the governor.”
However, it was gathered that the State Assembly members who resigned from the PDP alongside Diri are planning to commence impeachment proceedings against the deputy governor over his refusal to defect with the governor.
Sources said the lawmakers would describe Ewhrudjakpo’s resolve not to defect as a gross misconduct and impeachable offence, and that nothing will stop their legislative functions from impeaching him in their next sitting.
“We expect that the State Assembly will victimise him for his choice. If he’s victimised for his decision to stay in the PDP, he will have no choice than to do the needful”, the source added.
Diri and Ewhrudjakpo were elected under PDP in 2019 on joint ticket, but they became governor and deputy governor respectively of Bayelsa in 2020 and they were re-elected under the same PDP in 2023.
Ewhrudjakpo, a politician and lawyer who has served as the deputy governor of Bayelsa State since 2020, was the senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District from 2019 to 2020 in the 9th National Assembly.
Ewhrudjakpo had held various leadership positions, including Chairman of the Nigerian International Coastal Border Platform, which aims to harmonize maritime laws and combat piracy and other maritime-related crimes.
Meanwhile, making his position known, Seriake Dickson, Senator representing Bayelsa West, kicked against the wave of defections into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking with reporters at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, after plenary on Wednesday, Dickson said he remained committed to the PDP.
He said the governors defecting were making mockery of democracy.
Reacting to Diri’s action, Dickson said, “I am where I have always been. I don’t believe Nigeria should become a one-party state. As a democrat, I understand the ups and downs of the process, but I remain constant and steadfast in the PDP.
“It’s sad. Instead of fixing the problems, they let the crisis fester and now they are bailing out. It makes Nigeria look small, ridicules our democracy and endangers multiparty politics. What we are witnessing is political class suicide.
“To his credit, he consulted me, but I didn’t see any compelling reason to defect. I’m still standing where I have always stood, with the PDP, the party that gave my people the opportunity to produce a Vice President, an acting President, and a President of the Federal Republic. The APC cannot offer that.
“If we fail to save the PDP, then we will decide collectively on the next step, but it certainly should not be joining the APC. A democracy without opposition becomes a dictatorship.”