The Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, has alerted security agencies in the state to a planned rally organised in support of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
A group known as The New Associates, Bayelsa State chapter has planned an ‘Inauguration & Mega Rally’ in solidarity with Wike, scheduled for April 12, 2025, at the Tombia Roundabout in the state.
Speaking during a meeting with the Bayelsa Elders Council and the 37th session of the Bayelsa State Security Council, Diri expressed his disapproval of the planned event.
In a video, the governor directed that the programme should not hold, calling on elders, youths, and traditional rulers to remain vigilant.
Diri alleged that the rally and the inauguration of a political group loyal to Wike were intended to destabilise the state.
He further stated that he had instructed security agencies to remain on standby.
“The political crisis in Rivers State is already a threat to us, and we will not allow it to spill into Bayelsa. If your son or daughter is misbehaving, please caution,” Diri warned.
He also accused a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, George Turnah, of attempting to create a parallel PDP structure in the state in alignment with Wike.
“The party in our state has suspended George Turnah for attempting to take over the office of one of our sons. He is no longer a member of our party in Bayelsa State. He might be a PDP member in Rivers, but not here,” Diri added.
The governor urged royal fathers from the Ogbia kingdom to intervene and rein in Turnah.
“If you don’t call him to order, he will disrupt the peace in this state. Just recently, he posted on Facebook about receiving Wike in Bayelsa, Yenagoa,” he noted.
● Wike’s spokesperson reacts
In response, Lere Olayinka, the spokesman for the FCT minister, dismissed Diri’s concerns, accusing the governor of using Wike’s name to distract people from his governance failures.
“It is unfortunate that a governor with all the security apparatus at his disposal will go on national television over mere suspicion of people planning a rally,” he stated.
Olayinka emphasised that if Wike intended to attend a political event in Bayelsa, he would formally notify the appropriate security agencies.
“Nigerians have the right to express their support for anyone, anywhere, and anytime. Is this how much the governor fears Wike?” he questioned.
Turnah, who was recently suspended from the PDP in Bayelsa, also responded to Diri’s remarks.
In a statement issued by his media assistant, Kelvin Loveday-Egbo, he maintained that ethnicity should not be a factor in politics.
The PDP chieftain stated that the planned rally was meant to show support for President Bola Tinubu and Wike and that preparations were in full swing to ensure a peaceful event, with proper notifications sent to security agencies.
Turnah also challenged the notion that his role in the party was inappropriate, questioning whether he was unqualified simply because he was not from a particular background.
He further reminded Governor Diri that the same Ogbia leaders he had urged to call him to order were the ones who, in 2019, had advised him not to support Diri’s governorship ambition—advice he chose to ignore.
“I remain a member of the PDP and the duly serving South-South Zonal Secretary of the party,” Turnah asserted. [The Punch]
