Philip Jeremiah Eke
The moment former governor of Bayelsa State and Senator representing Bayelsa West, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, took control of his political future by pitching his tent with the party he founded, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), the import of this singular action was not lost on keen observers of Bayelsa politics.
Pundits observe that for a two- time governor, incumbent Senator, and a political benefactor of the governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, Dickson’s sponsorship of another political party to rival the governor’s party, All Progressives Congress (APC), has huge implications for the politics of Bayelsa State.
Firstly, they reckon that with Dickson’s defection to the NDC, it is now glaring that the gloves are off in the cold war between him and Diri, adding what started as whispers in the corridors of power at Creek Haven (Bayelsa Government House) and on the streets of Yenagoa has now blown open.
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While no one has been able to point to what exactly caused their strained relationship, sources hinted that both leaders had fallen out since the Diri’s first term, but were being mature enough to keep their differences under wraps. However, the November 2025 defection of Diri from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC, a party Dickson fought to a standstill, appears to be the last straw as their political differences boiled over.
Former Bayelsa gov,promoter of NDC
In a media chat he held at his country home, Toru- Orua, shortly after the burial of the former deputy- governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudajakpo whose loyalty to Dickson was unmistakable, the former governor actually confirmed that Diri consulted him about his planned defection to APC, but hinted that he had been forced to endure a lot of things done to undermine him by the administration his successor was leading.
Though he maintained sealed lips on the specific things done against him, he stated that the reason why he took things done against him in equanimity was that he did not want his political detractors, whom he fought to install Diri as governor, to mock him for falling out with his handpicked successor.
Hear him: ‘’Nothing is going on that I don’t know or monitor, but I keep quiet. Because I don’t want the people who wanted to be governors and I did not support and went for Diri, to laugh at me. Even though most of them are with him (Diri), benefiting. They wanted me to fight Diri so that they could say they warned me.’’
However, Diri, in a swift, veiled response to dispel Dickson’s continued harp on the politics of conviction to discredit his defection to the APC, declared that no one should be a slave to a political leader.
‘’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,’’ he declared.
Secondly, now that it is clear that Dickson and Diri have both parted ways politically, the reverberation of their troubled political alliance is snowballing into a toxic political competition with Bayelsa emerging as a battleground between the NDC and the APC.
Undoubtedly, Dickson’s skill in grassroots mobilisation and consensus-building cannot be underestimated. This is aptly being demonstrated in the ongoing wave of defections and endorsements being witnessed in Bayelsa West and other parts of the state.
Leading the pack to NDC were leaders and political associates of Ewhrudajakpo from Ofoni and Federated communities in Sagbama Local Government Area. Their identifying with NDC is to show that even in death, associates of Ewhrudjakpo have not abandoned his political principle of loyalty.
Not only has NDC opened secretariats in each of the eight local government areas, but it is also exploiting the little cracks in the APC, especially in Bayelsa West, to persuade some grassroots politicians to join the NDC.
One of those who have defected is Seles Saboh, a former chairman of Ekeremor Local Government Area and former Deputy Chief Whip of the Bayelsa House of Assembly, Hon Ayakpo Wilson. According to political observers, the number of followers who defected with Saboh to the NDC should give the APC government serious concern.
Dickson, who expressed happiness with the reception of NDC in the state, declared that the party would resist what he called state capture for the benefit of a few people.
’Today, the NDC formally received into its fold Hon. Selekebina Saboh, a former stalwart of the APC and erstwhile Chairman of Ekeremor Area Council in Bayelsa State. It was also a pleasure to see the entry of Hon. Wilson Ayakpo Dauyegha, popularly known as WAD, who defected from the APC to join the NDC. WAD was the APC senatorial candidate against me in the last election. I thank both of them, along with their teaming supporters of over 10,000, as well as the good people of Bayelsa, who defied the heavy rain to join Nigeria’s ideological party, the NDC.
‘’No state in Nigeria should be allowed to perpetuate state-capture for the benefit of a few individuals, their families, or friends, while the rest of the people wallow in hunger and anger in the midst of plenty. Likewise, our country must not be left in the hands of those who seek to personalise power. The NDC is determined to change this paradigm.’’
In the latest round of defections, Diri’s brother, Comrade Doubara Kumokou, aka Youth Governor, has pitched his tent with Dickson and the NDC.
Kumoku’s defection rally, which was carnival-like, demonstrating his electoral value, was commended by Dickson.
‘’I have just been sent pictures and videos of the very impressive defection rally of Comrade Doubara Kumokou, alias Youth Governor, in Yenagoa, who defected to the NDC with over 1,000 supporters in a very carnival-like ceremony. I thank him for believing in the NDC vision and for expressing appreciation and gratitude to me for the friendship, confidence, and political support, which led me to support his brother to become the governor of our state.’’
To counter NDC’s rise in Bayelsa West and to puncture claims that Ewhrudajkpo’s kinsmen have aligned with NDC, the APC-led government has also gone to work by persuading them to declare support for the Diri government.
The elder brother of the late deputy- governor, Dr Christopher Ewhrudjakpo, who led the defectors, disclosed that they were joining the APC of their own volition. According to him, the people of Ofoni have supported the Diri’s government from inception, and they cannot afford to oppose a government they consider their own.
He stated that the bond between the Ofoni community and the Prosperity Government ‘’will not be broken’’ adding that those yet to decamp ‘’will join them in the APC in no distant time. “
Despite the popularity of NDC in Bayelsa, a Niger Delta group, South -South Reawakening Group, SSRG, has sounded a note of warning, noting that there is no political and ideological space for the party in Bayelsa and in Nigeria.
The convener of the group, Joseph Ambakederimo, warned that NDC is a tool in the hands of Dickson to perpetuate himself as the senator of Bayelsa West.
According to him, Bayelsans should avoid associating with NDC, which he insisted would alienate Ijaw people politically.
‘’The Bayelsa people, and especially the Bayelsa West Senatorial District, are expected to see through these shenanigans and desist from associating themselves with the NDC. The Bayelsa West people are too politically sophisticated to be hoodwinked with cheap lies.
“No serious Bayelsa politician of repute would be associated with the NDC scheming put forward as a political party. We cannot take steps that will further alienate our people; therefore, we have to be wary of those who want to take us to the precipice. We have to resist the temptation and urge our people to be steadfast, focused, and align with only the majority party.’’
Diri is also not taking the rising profile of NDC lightly, as he has warned APC members not to be overconfident in their approach to the 2027 elections.
Speaking on the evolving political landscape, Diri emphasised that elections are not won by assumptions or premature celebrations, but through grassroots engagement and the trust of the people.
According to Diri, overconfidence could cost any political party dearly because the will of the people remains the ultimate deciding factor.
He maintained that political actors should focus on performance and service delivery to sustain the trust of the electorate.
“We can’t pretend that we don’t have opposition. We must stand firm, not to be defeated. Political leaders should go back and hold their wards and local government tight,’’ Diri said.
Beyond the politics of defections, there is a growing concern about allegations of intimidation and stoppage of salaries for those who have identified with the NDC, heightening tension in the state.
The deputy- governor, Dr Peter Akpe, was alleged to have directed the stoppage of salaries of those in the employ of Bayelsa State government but identified with NDC.
The Bayelsa Commissioner for Special Duties, Michael Magbisa, a political associate of Dickson and the late Ewhrudjakpo, has accused the state government of stopping his salary.
Magbisa, who has resigned his membership of the APC, has also vacated his official residence, citing safety concerns.
‘’I have also left the official commissioners’ quarters because my family and I are not safe,’’ he said.
Political commentators, Gberenmi Ozu and Funkebi Atabala, have defended the stoppage of salaries of those who are supporting the NDC but want to retain their employment with the APC-led government.
While Ozu maintained that NDC supporters working in government cannot ‘’ bite the hands that feed you’’, Atabala said the Dickson government in 2015 ‘’sacked Civil servants who identified with the APC.’’
In the coming days and weeks, how Diri and Dickson will handle the political situation in the state will determine whether the political temperature of the state will reach a boiling point.
