Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has challenged members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections, declaring that opposition parties should not be allowed to secure 25 per cent of the votes in the presidential and National Assembly polls.
Diri gave the directive on Saturday during the grand finale of the Bayelsa East Renewed Hope Movement sensitisation campaign, where he called on party members to consolidate their political support base and persuade undecided voters to support the APC ahead of the elections.
Represented by his deputy, Dr Peter Akpe, the governor cautioned party supporters against complacency, stressing that their current political standing should not discourage them from sustaining mobilisation efforts across the state.
A statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Deputy Governor, Mr Doubara Atasi , on Sunday, said the Governor also praised political leaders and stakeholders in Bayelsa East for promoting reconciliation and maintaining peace, noting that unity remained important to the political stability and development of the area.
Speaking at the event, Diri, through his deputy, said: “On behalf of our leader and Governor, His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, I want to thank you for your show of love and support. We are happy with what you are doing for our party. We appreciate your sacrifices. Look at how you have even defied the rain.
“So, I appreciate every one of you – the leadership and all those that have worked with the government of Bayelsa to ensure that peace and unity is maintained and improved on in Bayelsa East, going forward.
“But saying thank you does not mean you should go to sleep. It is time to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. One or two people are out there waiting for us to harvest. Bring them inside. Do not leave them outside because we want to squeeze the opposition to zero point.
“Our winning is sure, but if we score 75 per cent, we have not won because the other people should not get 25 per cent. I emphasize that no opposition party or candidate should get 25 per cent of votes in Bayelsa.”
In his remarks, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed that former President Goodluck Jonathan had endorsed President Bola Tinubu and all APC candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
Ogbuku explained that APC candidates from Bayelsa East had visited the former president to seek his consent and blessings before embarking on the sensitisation campaign.
He said the visit was informed by the need to respect Jonathan’s leadership and acknowledge his position as a prominent political figure from the senatorial district.
According to him: “As a people who respect leadership, we first took all our candidates to see the former president of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who is also from this electoral district, to seek his permission and his blessings.
“In that meeting, the former president actually blessed this movement, blessed our candidates and endorsed all of them from president to the least candidate, and gave us a mandate to go out to win the election for the senatorial district.”
The NDDC boss described the emerging political cooperation among stakeholders in Bayelsa East as significant, recalling that unity among leaders from the area had contributed to the emergence of its first military administrator and civilian governor.
He said: “It is our unity that gave us military administrator in the old Rivers State (Alfred Diete-Spiff). It was our unity that gave us the first Rivers civilian governor (Melford Okilo) and this our unity, we know, will bring about better things and prosperity to Bayelsa East.”
Ogbuku urged party leaders and supporters to sustain the mobilisation drive and translate their political activities into electoral support in 2027.
He also challenged other senatorial districts in Bayelsa State to emulate the cooperation among political stakeholders in Bayelsa East.
Similarly, a former Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd), called on political leaders to place collective interests above personal disagreements.
Jonah maintained that political differences should not prevent individuals from working together when their interests align.
“Every politics is local. Every politics is for your interest. The fact that you are fighting with somebody does not mean that I will also fight with that person if that person is working for my interest,” Jonah said.
He further appealed to voters in the district to support Tinubu’s re-election ambition, arguing that the President had demonstrated commitment to the devolution of power, a longstanding demand of the Niger Delta region.
Other dignitaries who delivered goodwill messages at the event included the Bayelsa State APC Chairman, Hon. Warman Ogoriba; Campaign Director-General, Chief Robert Ayalla Enogha; APC Bayelsa East senatorial candidate, Chief Israel Sunny-Goli; the party’s House of Representatives candidate for Nembe/Brass Federal Constituency, Dr Jonathan Obuebite; and the state Commissioner for Transport, Hon. Preye Broderick.
