Diri Dismisses Speculations, Says He Won’t Force Anyone to Join APC

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has refuted claims suggesting he plans to compel people to join the All Progressives Congress (APC), emphasizing that his approach is one of persuasion rather than coercion.

Addressing the media, Diri stated that political alignment should be based on understanding, not force. “I do not intend to force people to join the APC but to appeal to them to see reason with me. I might have the power today but not tomorrow,” he said.

The governor acknowledged the challenges of political division between a governor and a deputy belonging to different parties but expressed optimism about reconciliation. “It is difficult for the governor to be on one side and the deputy on another. But we will continue to talk and might end up in the same party tomorrow,” he added.

Diri called for unity and peace in Bayelsa politics, stressing that the era of political violence in the state was over. “We must not heat up 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,” he said.