A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Hon. Yekini Nabena, on Friday declared that the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, will not be bringing any value to the party, alleging that he is instead trying to destabilise the current leadership structure to have his way.

According to Nabena, Governor Diri is expected to formally defect to the APC on Monday and is “working to destroy the existing leadership of the party before jumping ship.”

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the Bayelsa-born APC chieftain said Governor Diri’s planned defection would not yield the kind of political impact he might be anticipating.

He also accused loyalists of the governor of stoking arrest rumours linking the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, with regard to an alleged coup plot.

Nabena described the arrest rumours as a deliberate attempt to smear Ogbuku’s reputation and destabilise the existing leadership structure of the APC in Bayelsa State, allegedly to pave the way for Governor Diri’s planned defection to the party.

A section of the media had recently reported that the NDDC boss was arrested over an alleged coup plot.

He argued that the Bayelsa governor “will join APC empty-handed” since most key figures in the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP were not defecting with him, unlike what recently occurred in Delta and Enugu states.

The APC stalwart, therefore, urged Nigerians to disregard the fake reports about Ogbuku’s alleged arrest.

He said, “Let me put it on record that we are not saying the Governor should not join the APC, it is a democracy and he has right to join any party. The fact we will not take is for him to destroy some people and the existing leadership of the APC in Bayelsa state because he wants to take full control of the party.

“We have traced the recent happenings in Bayelsa state to Governor Douye Diri’s camp, especially the arrest rumours of NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku.

“The plan is to destroy the existing organs and prominent members of the party before he (Governor Diri) formerly decamps to APC on Monday.

“But up till now, we have not found an answer to the question of what Governor Douye Diri is bringing to the APC. This is a Governor that his Deputy is not defecting with him, hence he is plotting to impeach the Deputy Governor.

“This is a Governor that even some State House of Assembly members have rejected. About 90 per cent of the serving National Assembly members, including Senator Dickson and other high-profile lawmakers, are not on the same page with him.

“This is a Governor who is not in control of his local constituency, not to talk of his entire Senatorial District. We ask Governor Douye Diri again to tell Nigerians who is running after him or what is he running after?”

Nabena further claimed that several prominent Bayelsa PDP figures remain aligned with Ogbuku’s leadership and are more inclined to join President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda through the NDDC boss “at the right time.” (VANGUARD)