A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Chief Julius Bokoru, has faulted the composition of the committee to oversee the forthcoming ward and local government congresses across the state describing the list as lopsided.
Bokoru in a statement on Friday observed that the list, currently in circulation, had done little or nothing to advance and promote internal cohesion within the party.
The founding member of the party noted that the process of compiling the list should have been deployed to foster reconciliation and unity within the APC especially following recent political realignments.
Bokoru, however, noted that instead the process had been used to reinforce existing divisions between long-standing party members and newly defected members.
Bokoru, who also serves as Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to Timipre Sylva, former Governor of Bayelsa State, acknowledged the leadership position of Governor Douye Diri within the party, but said such a role carried a responsibility to balance authority with inclusiveness.
According to him, Diri did not join a weak or marginal party structure in Bayelsa but one that had steadily evolved into a competitive political force.
He said: “Governor Diri did not join a defeated APC in Bayelsa. He joined a party that grew from relative obscurity into a formidable platform, winning legislative seats, recording strong performances in presidential elections, and making credible showings in governorship contests”.
Bokoru added that the APC in Bayelsa had reached political maturity long before the governor’s defection, and that many party members, who laboured to build its structure reasonably expected acknowledgment and inclusion.
He remarked that the committee’s list reflected a broader pattern of limited consultation within the party.
He said: “Even before now, consultations have been narrow. Notably, several new entrants, including the governor, are yet to engage meaningfully with the party secretariat at Yenezue-Gene. In politics, such gaps are often significant. Out of about 28 names you cannot cede maybe just 2 or 3 and hold onto the next, there is nothing democratic or strategic in that” he stated.
He warned that sustained exclusion could weaken the party’s internal stability and undermine its broader objectives, including the collective interests of the party at the national level under President Bola Tinubu.
Bokoru also appealed to the party’s national leadership to review the development to prevent internal disaffection and safeguard party unity in Bayelsa.
He cautioned against any perception that former PDP structures were being superimposed completely on the APC, noting that such an impression risked weakening morale and raising concerns about internal equity.
Bokoru called on governor Diri to reconsider the committee list and adopt a more inclusive approach.
He said: I respectfully urge the Governor to withdraw the list and pursue a broader, more inclusive path—one that gives both long-standing and new members a fair stake in the party’s future, strengthens internal confidence, and consolidates the APC as a united and credible political platform in Bayelsa State.”