Bayelsa senator joins APC, says PDP in ‘total disarray’

The senator representing Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, Benson Konbowei, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Mr Konbowei’s letter of defection was read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Thursday.

The senator attributed his defection to what he called the “unpleasant circumstances and the crisis-torn situation” in his former party.

He recalled that he had been a member of PDP since 1998, from which he was elected to the 10th Senate.

“After due consultation with my family, my associates, and my political leaders in my state and across the nation, I have resolved to join the governor of my state, the state of Bayelsa, Senator Douye Diri, to resign my membership of the party.

“In coming to this decision, I have taken a deep look at the protracted leadership crisis and the division that has resulted from the competition for power within the PDP, especially at the national level.

“I have lost hope in the capacity of my party to play the role of a political party that is capable of winning councilorship elections in Nigeria,” he stated.

He said that PDP, built on lofty promises for Nigerians, had fallen into the wrong hands, adding that it currently lacked principled leadership.

“The PDP has become characterised by eternal power struggles and irreconcilable conflicts and, at the moment, is in total disarray,” the senator said.

According to him, no politician will sit and wait for those issues in the PDP to be resolved, even as the 2027 elections beckon.

“Accordingly, it has left me with no option but to resign from that party. So, I hereby resign,” the lawmaker stated.