Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, has said he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) based on his personal conviction at the time.

Diri announced his resignation from the PDP on October 15, 2025, and was formally received by APC bigwigs, including Vice President Kashim Shettima, in Yenagoa, the state capital, on November 3, 2025.

But the governor and his predecessor, Seriake Dickson, now representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, on Monday, exchanged subtle shades over his defection to the ruling APC and the unwillingness of the late Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, to join him.

Dickson, who spoke at his country home, Toru-Orua, in Sagbama Local Council Area, while reminiscing about the life and times of the late deputy governor, revealed that he had asked the late Ewhrudjakpo to join his boss in the APC.

According to Dickson, the late deputy governor replied that the spirit of his fathers will not allow that, as it was not the right thing to do.

He said only a principled man like Ewhrudjakpo, who was raised on the right values and was not after pecuniary benefits, would stand firm to reject such overtures to defect.

However, speaking on Monday night at the January edition of the monthly Praise Night in the Government House, Yenagoa, Diri stated that politics is dynamic and politicians should learn to accept change in the overall interest of the people they serve.

The governor’s Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, in a statement yesterday, quoted the governor as saying: “There is no static nature in politics because we have alignments and re-alignments. The development and progress of our state is the reason we are in politics.

“I do not just make decisions. I consult, I pray, and my spirit tells me where I should go.

“Most of you know my political trajectory. I have moved from one party to another. I have moved from the National Solidarity Movement (NSM), and when the party was dying, we moved to the PDP and then to the Labour Party (LP).

“In the LP, we realised that we had met a brick wall, and that was when I was invited to join the PDP again. Assuming I did not move, maybe I would not have become governor today.

“So, in politics, movement is allowed. Changing camps is allowed, but do it out of conviction. Do not be a slave to anyone. Your destiny and the next person’s destiny are not the same.

“If you are convinced and still following that person, please go ahead. But there is no static nature in politics. In political science, we have alignments and realignments. The reason we are in politics is for the development and progress of our state.”