….. The controversy surrounding the rumoured resignation of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, was brought to an end on Friday after the Presidency confirmed Sylva’s resignation.
The Presidency has confirmed the resignation of the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, ahead of the All Progressive Congress, APC, governorship primaries in Bayelsa State next month, Daily Post reports.
On Friday, in a tweet on his verified official Twitter handle, Bashir Ahmad, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Assistant on Digital Communications, confirmed the development,
adding that Sylva resigned to pursue his governorship ambition.
“Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and former Bayelsa state governor, H.E. Timipre Sylva, has resigned his appointment to contest in the next Bayelsa governorship election”, Ahmad tweeted.
The statement clarified speculations surrounding the Minister’s resignation.
Sylva had served as Governor of Bayelsa in the past, for one full term between 2008 and 2012. At the time, he was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The PDP, which is now an opposition party, was at the time of Sylva’s reign as governor, the party running the Federal Government.
Recall that it was recently reported that some APC members in Bayelsa State had called on the national leadership of the party to disqualify Sylva from contesting the governorship primaries of the party over his refusal to resign his position as a minister.
The report stated that party members from 43 Wards in Ekeremor, Ogbia, Sagbama, Kolokuma/Opokuma, and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas of the state, in a petition to the party national leadership, pointed out that at the time the minister was screened, he had not resigned.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has fixed November 11, 2023, for governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo states.
March 27 between April 17, 2023, are scheduled dates for political Parties’ primaries.
