Ahead of the November 11 governorship election in Bayelsa State, indications have emerged of a split within the All Progressives Congress ( APC), with some prominent opposition figures in secret romance with Governor Duoye Diri, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
The development is said to had put the ambition of the APC candidate, former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and former Governor of the state, Chief Timpreye Sylva, in jeopardy.
New Telegraph gathered that Diri has been exploring the division in the APC to woo its members to his camp. According to our source, Diri has reached out to prominent APC leaders, particularly those who have scores to settle with Sylva and dangled some carrots before them.
According to a source familiar with the moves, some prominent APC chieftains including the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Sen Heineken Lokpobiri, and 2019 governorship candidate, David Lyon, have been lured into his ( Diri) camp.
The duo have reportedly distanced themselves from the electioneering campaigns of Sylva in the countdown to the gubernatorial election and were secretly working for Diri’s re-election bid.
Lyon, who was sacked as Bayelsa state governor-elect by the Supreme Court in February 2020, had thought that he would be given the right of first refusal in the consideration of the gubernatorial candidate of the APC in the November election. On the other hand. Lokpobiri is unhappy over Sylva’s decision not to back his ministerial ambition.
The governor had reportedly promised to hand over to Lokpobiri as governor, with Lyon as deputy governor, if the duo could team up with him to defeat Sylva on the forthcoming election.
It was also learnt that the governor has not limited his promises’ to the APC camp but has extended his calculations to other big wigs within and outside his party.
