By Obinna Uballa
Tension has gripped Bayelsa State following reports that members of the State House of Assembly are plotting to impeach Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo for refusing to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside Governor Douye Diri.
Governor Diri had on Wednesday announced his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) through his spokesperson, Daniel Alabrah, without offering specific reasons for his defection.
However, the deputy and former governor, Senator Seriake Dickson, have publicly rejected the move, declaring their loyalty to the PDP.
Sources within the Government House confirmed that Ewhrudjakpo was conspicuously absent from the State Executive Council (SEC) meeting where Diri formally disclosed his decision to join the APC.
“Earlier this morning, Diri presided over the SEC meeting, but the deputy governor refused to attend. He’s not defecting with the governor,” a government insider told NEWS WEEK NIGERIA, an online medium.
Party loyalists loyal to Ewhrudjakpo and Dickson have maintained that the PDP remains strong and united in Bayelsa, insisting there is no justification for abandoning the party.
“The deputy governor, Ewhrudjakpo, our leader Senator Seriake Dickson, and several others are staying put in the PDP, we’re not going anywhere,” a PDP chieftain said.
But the deputy governor’s defiance has reportedly angered lawmakers loyal to Diri, many of whom have already crossed over to the APC.
Sources revealed that they are now working behind the scenes to initiate impeachment proceedings against Ewhrudjakpo on allegations of “gross misconduct”, a move widely seen as politically motivated.
“We expect that the State Assembly will victimise him for his decision to remain in the PDP,” a source familiar with the development told the online medium. “If that happens, he may be forced to take legal or political steps to defend himself.”
Ewhrudjakpo, a lawyer and former senator, was elected alongside Diri on a joint PDP ticket in 2019 and re-elected in 2023. His resistance to defect underscores a deepening division within the Bayelsa political establishment and could trigger a major shake-up in the state’s leadership.
Meanwhile, Senator Seriake Dickson has condemned the wave of defections from the PDP to the ruling APC, describing it as “political class suicide.”
“I don’t believe Nigeria should become a one-party state. It weakens democracy and makes the country look politically immature,” Dickson told journalists at the National Assembly in Abuja.
He confirmed that Diri informed him of his intention to defect but maintained that there was “no compelling reason” to abandon the PDP.
“If we fail to save the PDP, we will collectively decide on our next steps, but certainly not by joining the APC. A democracy without opposition is a dictatorship,” Dickson warned.
