PORT HARCOURT – The Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the 2023 Bayelsa State election, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, has called on Governor Douye Diri and former Governor Seriake Dickson to immediately align with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the interest of Bayelsa State and the Ijaw nation.
Speaking in Port Harcourt on Monday, Eradiri said the political realities in Nigeria demand that the state leadership reposition itself within the ruling structure at the federal level. He argued that remaining in the opposition would only lead to political marginalisation and hinder development in the state.
Eradiri, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and former President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), urged both Diri and Dickson to show leadership by joining the APC. He said their political stature—as sitting governor and senator—would give the Ijaw people a stronger voice in national affairs if they were aligned with the federal government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The time for political realignment for the Ijaw nation is now,” Eradiri said. “The current political equation will alienate the Ijaw race if we don’t restrategise and join the ruling party. There is no need to continue playing the opposition role when it offers no meaningful benefit to our people.”
He stressed that the Ijaw had historically remained close to the centre of power and warned that failure to align now would result in further exclusion from key developmental and political decisions.
“Dickson, being a former governor and now senator, and Diri, a former senator and now governor, will give the Ijaw nation a voice in national governance if they move to the APC. I urge them to set aside personal interests and act in the collective interest of our people,” he added.
Eradiri maintained that joining the ruling party would attract more infrastructure and manpower development to Bayelsa, saying it was time for the Ijaw to play decisive roles at the national level.
