•Hails Bayelsa people for choosing light of national integration over shadows of political isolation
•Says governor’s entry into ruling party at the centre a political reunion with progressive mind
•We tried to save PDP, governor explains
Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Julius Osahon in Yenagoa
The renewed hope train arrived Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State, yesterday amid pomp and circumstance, as Vice President Kashim Shettima formally received the state governor, Douye Diri, his teeming supporters into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Shettima described the occasion as one of “those rare and redemptive moments” in Nigeria’s political history, saying the governor has demonstrated the people’s preference for the light of national integration over the shadows of political isolation.
Speaking during the grand reception at the Samson Siasia Sports Stadium, Yenagoa, the vice president, who represented President Bola Tinubu, welcomed the governor into the party at the centre, which he described as “the house of progress” where Diri’s vision belonged.
Shettima stated, “Your Excellency, Governor Douye Diri, this gathering is a homecoming party for you. We are here not for a ceremony of convenience but for a celebration of your conviction.
“Yours is the story of a leader, who has chosen the harder right over the easier wrong. Today, you have shown us that Bayelsa State has chosen the light of national integration over the shadows of political isolation.”
Shettima said while Tinubu had demonstrated repeatedly that politics was not war, but the “art of building bridges across rivers of difference”, Diri had shown profound understanding of that metaphor.
He stated, “The All Progressives Congress is the party of those who believe that progress can only be guaranteed when we stand together, when we answer the call of the people.
“And, in many ways, Your Excellency, your story mirrors that of your people. You have led with calm dignity, but beneath that calm has flowed a restless commitment to development, to unity, and to peace.”
The vice president described Diri as “a son of the creeks, who has built literal and political bridges across the waters of the Niger Delta”.
He stated that Diri’s defection from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the governing APC “is a political reunion with a progressive mind whose ideals have always aligned with the philosophy of the governing party”.
He said, “We are not a house of strangers; we are a family bound by the shared belief that Nigeria can, and must, work for all her citizens. And we know you, Your Excellency. We know you as a builder — a builder of infrastructure, a builder of peace, a builder of trust, a builder of the Bayelsa dream.”
Shettima assured the governor that he would not be judged by where he was coming from, but by where he was going to. He observed that Diri’s arrival in APC “is not the depletion of the opposition” but the “confirmation of the pulse and constitutional clarity of Africa’s largest democracy—the freedom of choice”.
Stating that Diri and his supporters were now part of a progressive family that “thinks and acts together,” the vice president assured the governor of the party’s support, as he championed purposeful governance.
“From the health reforms that give hope to the sick, to the schools that have opened the gates of opportunity to thousands of children, we are here to restore the confidence and dignity of those who have lost faith in government,” he stated.
Shettima told the people of Bayelsa that it was their faith in governance that brought the governor to APC, a house of progress.
He added, “This is about the roof over all our heads — the roof called Nigeria. We have found out, through experience, that no one prospers under a leaking roof. The house must stand strong, united, and inclusive.
“So, Your Excellency, on behalf of our leader and President, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. the leadership of our great party, and the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I welcome you to a family that rewards excellence, a family that respects loyalty, and a family that honours service.”
Earlier, Senate President Godswill Akpabio congratulated Diri for taking “a bold step in the right direction”.
Akpabio described Diri’s decision as a defining moment for the Ijaw nation and the entire South-south.
He commended the governor’s infrastructural strides, especially the dual-carriage roads across Yenagoa, acknowledging that the cost of such projects in a riverine state was enormous.
National Chairman of APC, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, assured Diri and his supporters of the party’s support at the national level, stating that they are at home in APC.
Yilwatda stated, “The party’s National Working Committee, millions of members of the APC family in Nigeria and other stakeholders have welcomed the Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, to the progressive family.”
Chairman of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, commended Diri for “a progressive and courageous decision taken at the right time”.
Uzodimma said the decision to join the government at the centre was a confirmation that Nigerians were beginning to recognise the leadership qualities of Tinubu.
“We are highly joyed to observe that Nigerians are uniting under one purpose – love for our country,” the PGF chairman declared.
He emphasised that Nigeria had no room for ethnic or religious differences, even as he assured that APC governors would continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.
Diri, in his remarks, explained that his decision to dump PDP for APC followed deep consultations with stakeholders across the state, saying internal crisis within PDP, coupled with his desire to protect the interest of Bayelsans, informed his defection.
“Some ignorant people said I had lost my office. There is only one way a governor can lose his office: by impeachment from the state House of Assembly. And in this case, the speaker and majority of members are with me,” he stated.
Diri added that he was not motivated by personal ambition, but the need to align Bayelsa with a national leadership that valued development.
The governor recalled his long-standing advocacy for the construction of a coastal road linking Lagos to Calabar, a demand championed by the Ijaw nation since the late 1990s.
“Today, President Bola Tinubu is the first to take that demand seriously,” he said, adding that the project symbolises inclusion for the people of the Niger Delta.
He declared that Bayelsa’s future lay with the progressives, promising to deliver more development and unity to the people.
Leave a Comment