More Troubles For Timipre Sylva

More Troubles For Timipre Sylva

OpenLife Nigeria reports that immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva , is in fresh trouble.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in the November 2023 guber contest in Bayelsa State who is not new to trouble and controversies, it would be recalled, has been a guest of anti-corruption agencies over alleged mismanagement of public funds while in office.
Stakeholders in Bayelsa also kicked against his re election in 2011 owing to what they described as his unfit demeanour to continue as the governor of the State then.
However, though the 59 years old politician has managed to scale those hurdles and found favour in Muhammadu Buhari’s government to serve as a Minister of State, his recent attempts to contest the Bayelsa governorship seem to be unwelcome by some of the stakeholders.
Before now, Timi Frank, a former APC spokesman, had accused Timipre Sylva of certificate forgery and called for his disqualification on account of the former Minister’s alleged dubiousness.
While Timi Frank has remained unrelenting in his personation to ensure Timipre Sylva is stopped from accessing Bayelsa Government House, another group called The Bayelsa APC Integrity Group is calling for his disqualification from the race even though he has successfully picked the ticket and recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC as a candidate.
Speaking on Arise TV Monday morning, the spokesperson of the group, Dr.Theodore Allison maintained that Timipre Sylva must be disqualified from going ahead in the November election.
He accused Timipre Sylva of betrayal and distrust. He explained that he had worked with Timipre Sylva in the past when he was Bayelsa governor saying that as at that time, government house, under Timipre Sylva’s governorship, became a home to militants.
Coming short of calling Timipre Sylva a sponsor of militants in the Niger Delta, he wondered what could have made a State governor to turn government house to militants’ haven if there were no satanic intentions.
He however submitted that the group has written a protest to Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the leader of the party to, among other things, listen to their complaints and ensure the party is not weighed down by “albatross,” which Timipre Sylva’s candidature symbolizes.
“Timipre Sylva should be deleted from the list of contestants in the Bayelsa November governorship. We have been exploited and oppressed in the State.

I am a foundational member of APC in 2013 in Bayelsa. We only accepted Sylva in 2012 when he had problems in PDP. We were very skeptical in accepting him. I resigned from Timipre Sylva’s government because of security issues. Militancy was rife in Bayelsa. Militants were living in government house.

It was abnormal. As a party, we are carrying an albatross. We have been delivering for APC but Sylva is difficult to sell. We are out to salvage our party in Bayelsa. We are talking to Tinubu. Slyva told us he was not interested in Bayelsa governorship but he reneged. Our mission is to announce our dejections in the party to the public.

Sylva’s representation has never helped us in Bayelsa. Tinubu should look for technocrat in Niger Delta and not recommendations from Sylva for the purpose of development,” Dr. Theodore Allison narrated, lamented and suggested.