Diri Should Vacate Office After Dumping PDP – Ex-Party Legal Adviser

A former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jacob Mark, has said that Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, should lose his seat following his resignation from the opposition party.

Mark stated this during an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday, while reacting to the wave of defections rocking the PDP across several states.

The former PDP official argued that the Nigerian Constitution does not permit anyone to occupy an elective position without being a member of a political party.

“The constitution of Nigeria clearly states that you cannot contest elections without being sponsored by a political party,” Mark said.

“By implication, you also cannot occupy an elective office without a political party.”

He insisted that Governor Diri’s resignation from the PDP amounted to abandoning the platform that sponsored his election, which, in his view, should lead to his removal from office.

Mark criticised the growing trend of political defections by elected officials, describing it as a sign of weak party discipline and personalisation of power.

“What we are seeing today is that individuals are bigger than the political parties,” he said.
“They are becoming like warlords who are in charge of the territory they occupy, and they take decisions without regard for anything.”

He added that such practices were undermining Nigeria’s democratic values and constitutional order, calling for stricter enforcement of existing laws to prevent political instability.

Governor Douye Diri announced his resignation from the PDP last week, days after the Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, also defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The development sparked controversy within the PDP, as more state executives and lawmakers in Bayelsa have reportedly followed Diri’s lead, signalling a major realignment in the state’s political structure.