There appears to be an uneasy calm among the populace, People Democratic Party (PDP) family, political appointees of Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri regarding as speculations of his impending defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) thicken.
 
Though it was widely rumoured that the governor was expected to make the move yesterday, the event did not hold and neither officials of the state PDP or any of his aides or appointees offer any clue, as they remained mute.   State PDP Chairman, Solomon Aguwanana, when contacted, quickly cut the call when The Guardian tried to raise the subject matter.
 
However, the State Chairman of the APC, Dennis Otiotio, when contacted, said he was not aware Governor Diri was decamping yesterday, but confirmed ongoing negotiations among the governor, some of his aides and the party.
 
He said:  “I am presently in Enugu State, where we are preparing to receive the Enugu State Governor and his cabinet to the APC. I don’t know if he (Diri) is joining today (yesterday), but there are negotiations towards that, and in due course, we will all know.”

ALSO yesterday, Bayelsa renewed an energy agreement for a solar panel manufacturing plant in the state. The tripartite deal, involving the Federal Government’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the Bayelsa government and J Marine Logistics Limited, a subsidiary of Dubai-based Jampur Group that supplied the state’s 60MW gas turbines, was signed in Abuja during the 2025 Nigeria Renewable Energy Innovation Forum (NREIF).
 
Governor Diri signed on behalf of the state, while the Chairman of Jampur Group, Mr. Mohammed Shafiq signed for the company in the presence of Vice President Kashim Shettima, who chaired the event, alongside the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and the REA’s Managing Director, Abba Aliyu.
 
A statement by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Daniel Alabrah, stated that under the agreement, the firm would solely finance and establish a 100MW renewal energy plant for the manufacture of solar panels in Bayelsa to advance Nigeria’s renewable energy agenda.