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You’ll Pay In 2027 – Dickson Declares War On Diri, Vows To Retake Bayelsa From APC
You’ll Pay In 2027 – Dickson Declares War On Diri, Vows To Retake Bayelsa From APC
Former Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, accuses Governor Douye Diri of surrendering the state to the All Progressives Congress (APC), warning that he will face political consequences in 2027.
Dickson alleges that Diri has betrayed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which provided the platform for his emergence and re-election as governor, over personal political ambition.
The NDC national leader vows to mobilise founding PDP leaders and loyalists of former President Goodluck Jonathan to reclaim Bayelsa from Diri and the APC.
Dickson makes the declaration during a political visit to Toru-Orua alongside NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi, while describing his disagreement with Diri as political rather than personal.
November 02, () – Former Bayelsa State Governor and National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Seriake Dickson, has threatened Governor Douye Diri with political defeat in the 2027 elections, accusing him of surrendering the state to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Dickson, who vowed to mobilise political forces to wrest control of Bayelsa from Diri and the APC, accused the governor of abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the platform that brought him to power, for personal political interests.
The former governor issued the warning during a political visit to his hometown, Toru-Orua, in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, alongside the NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and other leaders of the party.
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Addressing supporters during the visit, Dickson accused Diri of betraying the political platform and the leaders who facilitated his emergence and re-election as governor.
“You have surrendered Bayelsa to APC. You have sold Bayelsa to APC, and you will pay for it in 2027. Bayelsa is PDP and PDP is Bayelsa. You cannot sell our state”, he declared.
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Dickson said the governor’s alleged political realignment would not be accepted by the people of the state, insisting that Bayelsa’s political allegiance could not be transferred to the APC because of an individual’s ambition.
‘We Made You Governor Twice’
The NDC leader accused Diri of disregarding the political support he received from the PDP and its leaders, recalling that the party provided him with the platform to become governor and secure a second term.
“We gave you a PDP ticket; we made you governor twice. Now you want to give Bayelsa to APC. It will not work. We will reclaim Bayelsa in 2027”, Dickson said.
He described the governor’s alleged conduct as anti-party activity and a betrayal of the political family that supported his emergence, adding that he would work with other founding PDP leaders and loyalists of former President Goodluck Jonathan to challenge Diri and the APC.
Dickson maintained that Bayelsans would resist attempts to transfer the state’s political support to the ruling party.
He also urged his supporters to remain peaceful and refrain from threats, attacks or abuses against political opponents.
Dickson Says Disagreement With Diri Is Political
Despite his strong criticism of the governor, Dickson said his disagreement with Diri was based on political differences rather than personal animosity.
“The governor is still my person, my brother, my compatriot and our governor. But he is now someone I disagree with, as he and the people in his government are wrong with the direction they are taking our state to”, he noted.
The former governor also explained that he had deliberately restrained himself from making extensive public comments on developments in Bayelsa to avoid creating political tension and preserve peace in the state.
However, he said the governor’s alleged political direction had made it necessary for him to speak out and mobilise against what he considered an abandonment of the PDP.
During the visit, Dickson introduced Obi to supporters in Bayelsa and urged residents to support the NDC presidential candidate and other candidates of the party in the 2027 elections.
The Director-General of the NDC National Campaign Council, Mallam Ibrahim Abdulkarim, was also part of the delegation.
Background To Dickson-Diri Political Rift
Dickson governed Bayelsa State from 2012 to 2020 before Diri succeeded him on the PDP platform in February 2020.
Diri became governor after the Supreme Court disqualified the APC candidate in the 2019 governorship election, David Lyon, over discrepancies in the nomination documents of his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo.
He subsequently secured re-election in November 2023, defeating the APC candidate, Timipre Sylva.
Dickson played a prominent role in the political process that produced Diri as his successor. However, relations between the two politicians have deteriorated amid disagreements over the control and direction of the PDP and the political future of Bayelsa State.
Diri’s political relationship with the APC has become a major point of contention, with Dickson accusing him of moving the state towards the ruling party at the expense of the PDP.
Dickson also claimed during the visit that the APC had never defeated him at the polls in Bayelsa, saying he had remained an obstacle to the party’s efforts to win the state since 2015.
“The APC never defeated me, and they have never won Bayelsa on the ballot. I have been the obstacle stopping them from winning Bayelsa since 2015, even with the defeat of the PDP at the centre”, he said.
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