Diri’s alleged comment may trigger political tension in Bayelsa — Eradiri

Former President, Ijaw Youths Council Worldwide, Udengs Eradiri, has cautioned Governor Douye Diri against making statements capable of creating confusion and political tension over the zoning of the governorship position in Bayelsa State.

Eradiri, a former governorship candidate in the state, expressed concern over the governor’s alleged comment suggesting that the next governor could emerge from either the Eastern Senatorial District or the West.

Speaking on the zoning arrangement in Bayelsa, the former Commissioner for Youths and later Environment insisted that the governorship should naturally rotate to the Eastern Senatorial District in line with the political understanding and power-sharing arrangement that has evolved in the state over the years.

According to him, the Central Senatorial District currently occupies the governorship seat through Governor Diri, while the Western Senatorial District had previously produced a governor who completed eight years in office.

He argued that although the Eastern Senatorial District had produced two governors in the past, the district had not collectively completed eight years in power, making it the rightful zone to produce the next governor.

Eradiri, who is from the Central Senatorial District, questioned the rationale behind including the West in the succession debate despite what he described as an existing political consensus.

He noted that proponents of the West often relied on the local government argument to justify their position, adding that if such a parameter were to be considered, Yenagoa should have a stronger claim as the host of the state capital.

The former IYC leader lamented that Yenagoa had not received the level of political recognition and infrastructural development it deserved because it had yet to produce a governor since the creation of Bayelsa State.

He maintained that most political stakeholders in the state had accepted that power should shift to the East, warning that reopening the debate could destabilise the political atmosphere ahead of the next governorship election.

“The West has produced the governor for eight years and the deputy governor for another eight years. So it is naturally the East that the pendulum is swinging to,” he said.

“So, when the governor, who is our political leader, begins to sit in the middle, then it becomes a recipe for chaos.”

Eradiri warned that comments from Governor Diri, whom he described as the political leader of the state, would be taken seriously by political actors and supporters, especially in an already tense environment.

He further stated that any attempt to alter the perceived zoning arrangement could force politicians who had earlier aligned themselves with the East’s expected turn to reconsider their political positions and ambitions ahead of the 2027 governorship race in Bayelsa State.