A chieftain of the All-Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Diekive Ikiogha has claimed that members of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labour Party (LP) in Bayelsa State are set to move to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to ensure Governor Douye Diri’s re-election.
Ikiogha who supported Peter Obi and the Obedient movement during the 2023 Presidential election insisted that the APC cannot win the governorship election in Bayelsa State.
Speaking via a press conference over the weekend, the former Commissioner for Agriculture said he decided to pitch his tent with Diri because the governor has shown that he is a leader that can truly develop Bayelsa.
He explained that as one of the founding fathers of the state he was concerned about the development of Bayelsa and the search for the person that could develop the state led him to Diri.
Ikiogha also stated that the LP because of the factions at the national level would encounter legal obstacles that would invalidate the candidate of the party.
According to him, “It’s very obvious that PDP will win, and with the support of other stakeholders, it is crystal clear. When we left the PDP, we depleted the party, and now that we are back, the support will be massive again. PDP has the better structure to win the election. They are better organised than others; when they have issues, they quickly resolve and that is the party we built, and we are back.
“We had reasons for leaving the party at that time when the party lost focus in leadership; there was insecurity, but the current administration has changed the dynamics of governance, that is part of why we are back to our family.
“Before taking my submission, I engaged both parties on their strategy and how to achieve the plans of developing the state if they win, and the most preferred was the PDP. The APC lacks internal democracy within its folds, and inclusiveness. And it’s like an enterprise where only one person runs the show.’’
