2027: Diri Urges Bayelsa APC to Deny Opposition 25% of Votes

Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has called on All Progressives Congress (APC) members in the state to step up grassroots mobilisation to prevent opposition parties from securing at least 25 per cent of the votes in the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections.

Diri made the call on Saturday at the grand finale of the Bayelsa East Renewed Hope Movement sensitisation campaign, urging party members to strengthen their support base and persuade undecided voters to join the APC.

Represented by his deputy, Peter Akpe, the governor warned supporters against becoming complacent, saying the party must sustain its mobilisation efforts to secure a decisive victory.

He also praised political leaders and stakeholders in Bayelsa East for working towards reconciliation and maintaining peace, describing unity as important to the area’s political and developmental progress.

Through his deputy, Diri thanked party leaders and supporters for their commitment, including those who attended the event despite the rain. He also acknowledged their efforts in promoting peace and cooperation in the district.

However, he cautioned that the commendation should not make members relax, urging them to bring undecided voters into the party’s fold.

He maintained that securing 75 per cent of the votes would not be enough, insisting that opposition parties should not reach the 25 per cent threshold in Bayelsa.

 “On behalf of our leader and Governor, His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, I want to thank you for your show of love and support. We are happy with what you are doing for our party. We appreciate your sacrifices. Look at how you have even defied the rain. 

“So, I appreciate every one of you – the leadership and all those who have worked with the government of Bayelsa to ensure that peace and unity are maintained and improved on in Bayelsa East, going forward.

“But saying thank you does not mean you should go to sleep. It is time to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. One or two people are out there waiting for us to harvest. Bring them inside. Do not leave them outside because we want to squeeze the opposition to zero point.

“Our winning is sure, but if we score 75 per cent, we have not won because the other people should not get 25 per cent. I emphasise that no opposition party or candidate should get 25 per cent of votes in Bayelsa,” he said.  

Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Samuel Ogbuku, also commended the unity among political leaders in Bayelsa East, recalling how cooperation among the area’s leaders had contributed to the emergence of its first military administrator, Alfred Diete-Spiff, and its first civilian governor, Melford Okilo, when the area was part of the old Rivers State.

He expressed confidence that continued cooperation would promote development and prosperity in Bayelsa East.

“It is our unity that gave us a military administrator in the old Rivers State (Alfred Diete-Spiff). It was our unity that gave us the first Rivers civilian governor (Melford Okilo), and this our unity, we know, will bring about better things and prosperity to Bayelsa East,” he said. 

Ogbuku urged APC members to sustain their mobilisation efforts and convert the political support they had built into votes in 2027. He also challenged leaders in the state’s other senatorial districts to demonstrate similar unity.

Former Bayelsa Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha Jonah (retd.), called on political stakeholders to put collective interests ahead of personal disagreements.

He argued that political differences should not prevent people from working together when their interests align.

“Every politics is local. Every politics is for your interest. The fact that you are fighting with somebody does not mean that I will also fight with that person if that person is working for my interest,” Jonah said.

Jonah also urged voters in Bayelsa East to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, arguing that Tinubu had shown commitment to the devolution of powers, a longstanding demand of the Niger Delta region.

Other speakers at the event included the Bayelsa APC Chairman, Warman Ogoriba; Campaign Director-General, Robert Enogha; the party’s Bayelsa East senatorial candidate, Israel Sunny-Goli; its House of Representatives candidate for Nembe/Brass Federal Constituency, Jonathan Obuebite; and the state Commissioner for Transport, Preye Broderick.