It began like a quiet rumour carried by the coastal breeze of Yenagoa: Governor Douye Diri, the soft-spoken Bayelsan, had jumped ship. By mid-October, it was no longer speculation. The governor stood before a crowd in white shirts and orange flags, announcing that his heart—and his politics—now belonged to the APC.
Vice President Kashim Shettima led the welcoming committee. Senate President Godswill Akpabio smiled from the front row. Six governors from both the South and the Niger Delta turned up, marking what felt less like a defection and more like a coronation. Bayelsa, long painted in PDP blue, was suddenly leaning toward the centre’s red.