Yenagoa: Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State says he will not compel his Deputy, Sen Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, to join him in the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Diri formally joined the APC on November 3, without his Deputy, fuelling speculation that Ewhrudjakpo has been pencilled in for impeachment by the majority of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, who followed Diri to the APC.
The deputy governor subsequently approached a Federal High Court in Abuja to restrain the Bayelsa Assembly from the plot to impeach him for choosing to remain in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Diri resigned from the PDP on October 15, citing obvious reasons for his decision, but his Deputy did not join him in the new party.
The governor made this assertion during the weekly state executive council meeting at Government House, Yenagoa, on Wednesday, with Ewhrudjakpo also in attendance.
According to him, as a matter of principle, I believe in engagement rather than confrontation; I will continue to discuss with my Deputy.
While acknowledging that it is challenging for both of them to be in different political parties, Diri expressed optimism that ongoing engagements with his Deputy would yield positive results.
He disclosed that the case filed by Ewhrudjakpo at a Federal High Court in Abuja to halt a purported impeachment plan had been discontinued after they discussed it.
He urged the people of the state to love one another and view politics as a means to bring about development, rather than to pull others down.
“I express our gratitude to the people of our state for the successful and well-attended Thanksgiving Day service. The spirit of oneness and love is what we should continue to exhibit.
“I would also like to thank the people for the mammoth crowd at the sports complex during our defection.
“I appreciate the leader of our party, President Bola Tinubu, and Vice President Kashim Shettima. I pledge our loyalty to continue to work for a better Nigeria, for the upliftment of the standard of living of our people.
“Let me address an issue that has been a subject of speculation in the media. I do not intend to force people to join the APC but rather to appeal to them to see reason with me. I might have the power today, but not tomorrow.
It is difficult for the governor to be on one side and the Deputy on another. But we will continue to talk, and we might end up at the same party tomorrow.
“We must not heat the polity. We are done with violence in Bayelsa State. We are brothers and we are one. Politics should be for the development of the state and not to fight one another.” Diri said.
On the rumour of the arrival in the state of armed men from a part of the country, the governor dispelled it as fake news.
He, however, assured that security agencies had been put on notice to check any threat in any part of the state.
He reaffirmed Bayelsa as one of the most secure states in the country. He urged the people to go about their business, reporting security issues to the relevant agencies rather than rushing to post falsehoods on social media.
At the meeting, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Seiyefa Brisibe, presented to the governor the recognition of Bayelsa as the “Best State in Health Insurance Service Delivery” by the Nigeria Governors Forum.
His counterpart in the Ministry of Sports, Dr Daniel Igali, also presented a “Distinguished Governor Award for Outstanding Support to SWAN and Contribution to Sports Development in Nigeria” from the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria.