The Bayelsa State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) could witness more defections in the coming days and weeks in the aftermath of last Saturday’s loss of the governorship election.
Last week, prior to the election, it was believed that the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Monday Obolo Bubou had defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC), but it was swiftly debunked.
However, just two days after the announcement of the election result by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the grapevine had it that as many as eight lawmakers and some commissioners are about to decamp to the APC.
Political watchers believe that such an action could mean the death of the PDP in the state as the victory of the APC in the governorship election has consolidated its hold on the political life of the state.
The APC governorship candidate, David Lyon who is now the governor-elect scored 352,552 votes to defeat Douye Diri of the PDP who polled 143,172 votes.
Although the PDP candidate and Governor Henry Seriake Dickson have indicated they would challenge the outcome of the election in court, that may not satisfy those who are trying to secure their political futures.
Some PDP members who were irked by the handling of the party’s primary election had predicted an exodus of party members if it lost the poll, which could play out in the next few days or weeks.
