, Jacob Mark, has declared that Bayelsa State Governor){kind=link}
A former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jacob Mark, has declared that Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, should vacate his office following his recent resignation from the party.
Mark argued that Diri’s exit from the opposition party automatically invalidates his position as governor since, according to him, the Nigerian Constitution ties political office to party affiliation.
Speaking on Tuesday during an interview on Arise Television, Mark insisted that no elected public officer could remain in power after abandoning the political platform that sponsored their election.
“The law is very clear, you cannot contest or hold an elective office without a political party.
“If you resign from the party that brought you into office, it’s only logical that you also leave the office,” he stated.
Governor Diri’s resignation came just days after his Enugu State counterpart, Peter Mbah, officially defected from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), sparking debates about loyalty and political integrity within the opposition ranks.
Mark further lamented the growing trend of political leaders treating political parties as personal enterprises, saying such attitudes erode internal democracy and weaken Nigeria’s political system.
“What we are witnessing now is a dangerous culture where politicians see themselves as bigger than the institutions that produced them,” he added.
“They behave like territorial lords, making unilateral decisions without respect for party structures or the rule of law.”
The former PDP legal adviser urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the judiciary to take firm positions on such constitutional matters, warning that failure to do so would embolden more elected officials to disregard party allegiance.
Mark’s comments come amid intensified political realignments ahead of the next election cycle, with several governors and lawmakers switching allegiance between the APC and PDP in what analysts describe as “a prelude to 2027 power games.”