THE NATION
Some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State, including the party’s youth leader, Nunieh Odede, have dumped the party’s governorship candidate and the state governor, Douye Diri, for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Timipre Sylva.
In a handwritten letter on Monday, September 18, Nunieh announced his resignation from the PDP while other principal aides of the governor vacated their offices to campaign for Sylva.
A statement signed by Sylva’s Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Julius Bokoru, confirmed that Nunieh met with the APC candidate.
According to the statement, Nunieh said: “We have spent years with the PDP and we built the party to where it is. It is imperative we move on now in light of what is happening in the state.
“Bayelsa is in a comatose state and we cannot keep doing the old things and expect to get it right. Our resignation from the PDP, honestly, is to save our dear state from further ruin”.
The statement also quoted Sylva as commending the courage of Nunieh and other defectors, who chose the progress and development of the state over selfish gains.
Sylva said: “Youths are always the driving force of every society, youths also embody and gives a trajectory of what the future would look like
“Your decisions today is heroic and selfless, you have placed state over self and beyond even the elections you instil in us all that Bayelsa state is bound to do well.”
