Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources and a former governor of Bayelsa state, has entered the race to govern the state again on the platform of the All Progressive Congress party.
As a candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Sylva won the 2007 Bayelsa State gubernatorial election and succeeded Goodluck Jonathan who went on to the position of Vice President.
Sylva’s opponent in the 2007 election, Ebitimi Amgbare of the Action Congress, legally challenged his victory. Although the Bayelsa State Election Petitions Tribunal upheld Sylva’s election, Amgbare took the matter to the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt which overturned the Tribunal’s decision and nullified Sylva’s election on April 15, 2008.
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The Appeal Court’s five justices were unanimous in their decision and ordered that Speaker Werinipre Seibarugo be sworn in to replace Sylva as acting Governor, with a new election to be held within three months.
A new election was held on May 24, 2008, and Sylva, again running as the PDP candidate, was overwhelmingly elected with 588,204 out of about 598,000 votes. However, on January 27, 2012, his tenure was terminated by the Supreme Court with an acting governor appointed to oversee the state until the election of February 2012.
Sylva was appointed by President Buhari August 21, 2019, as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.
Reports say the form of All Progressives Congress nomination which cost N50 million and was purchased by his friends.
