The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have clashed over the APC’s ability to win Bayelsa State for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. The dispute, reported from Yenagoa, centres on the leadership of Governor Douye Diri and the influence of the Rainbow Coalition, a political bloc that the PDP claims can shape the state’s outcome.
During an interview, former Rivers State governor and Federal Capital Territory minister Nyesom Wike said that the Rainbow Coalition wields considerable influence in Bayelsa and could help secure Tinubu’s victory in 2027. “Bayelsa is one of the states where we can make a difference,” Wike told reporters.
APC Bayelsa chairman Hon. Warman Weri Ogoriba countered the claim, insisting that under Diri’s leadership the party already has the structure, numbers and grassroots reach to deliver the state to Tinubu. “We do not need external support to win,” Ogoriba said.
In response, PDP chairman George Turnah said the APC’s assertions should be measured against Bayelsa’s voting record and economic realities. “The 2027 contest will not be won by press statements or boasts about structures,” Turnah said, adding that the party’s success depends on building broad-based support across communities, wards and local government areas.
Turnah also cited the 2023 election, where Labour Party candidate Peter Obi nearly won Bayelsa despite lacking a visible political structure, to argue that the state’s electorate can be mobilised through mass appeal. He noted that Obi is now the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, a party founded by former Bayelsa governor Seriake Dickson, and that the APC risks losing the state if it ignores the Rainbow Coalition’s support.
According to Turnah, Diri’s defection to the APC and takeover of the party’s structure has alienated many founding members, who may now work against the party’s interests. “The current APC in Bayelsa cannot deliver the state to President Tinubu unless the PDP and the Rainbow Coalition mobilise their structures to support the APC,” he said.
Turnah concluded that the support of the PDP and the Rainbow Coalition is “central and indispensable” if Tinubu is to win Bayelsa State in 2027.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
