Bayelsa Guber: How I’ll Defeat Governor Diri, Sylva Boasts
POLITICS DIGEST – The All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in November 11, 2023, and former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, on Tuesday, visited Aso Rock Villa to solicit the support of President Bola Tinubu, in his quest to return as Governor of Bayelsa State.
Sylva served only one term but did not secure a reelection ticket on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for another term in 2011.
But he said that he was governor in his early 40s but now approaching 60 years, adding that he has garnered more experience and will be a more mature governor than when he served for four years.
The former Minister used the occasion to unfold his six-point agenda as he spoke to State House correspondents after his session with the President.
He enthused that Bayelsa State is an APC state, stressing, “We are set to take over Bayelsa, I came to inform Mr. President and take advice from him.
“I have been a governor, and I’ve been part of the politics of Bayelsa from inception. So I know Bayelsa and Bayelsa knows me.
“You know also in 2019 we won the election. The Governor that is there today is a Governor that won only two local governments in that election. But unfortunately, you know what happened.
“Even previously in 2015, we won the election. The Southern Ijaw results were canceled and were redone and of course, you know what took place at that time.
“So we are fully on ground. APC is the party on ground in Bayelsa State. And I can assure you that we can do it again and we will do it again.”
Asked what he intends to do differently if given the mandate, Sylvia said, “Of course, I mean definitely, I am more an experienced person now.
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“I was a governor in my early 40s now I am about to be 60. So you can see that a lot has happened, a lot of experience has been garnered . So they will see a bigger, more mature governor this time. A governor that is known to the world and the world knows him. So I know the world and the world knows me now. So it’s going to be a different ball game in Bayelsa.”
On his six-point agenda, Sylva explained: “First point of the agenda is human capital development including education, which is very important. We need to really develop the capacity of our people.
“The second point of the agenda is infrastructure. We really need in Bayelsa State.
“Third point of the agenda is to develop an economy for Bayelsa. And for Bayelsa we believe that the economy that can easily be developed is a gas economy. Because we are sitting on the highest deposit of gas in Nigeria.
“Fourth point in the agenda is agriculture and in agriculture we are not going to also be trying everything, we’re going to concentrate on rice production. As you know, rice goes well in the swamps and Bayelsa has a lot of swamps as you know.
“We are definitely going to become the biggest rice producer in Nigeria because we have that comparative advantage. And then of course, in agriculture we’re looking at also fishery.
“The fifth point of the agenda will be to stabilize power because you know that if you want to grow an economy you need to stabilize power. We must stabilize power in Bayelsa working with the federal government and we have the gas to fire the power sector.
“Then, the sixth point of the agenda is to ensure that there is security. We’re going to hit the ground running and I can assure you that linking up with the great things that are going to be achieved from the federal side and with what you can see, I believe that the glory days of Bayelsa are just around the corner, just like the glory days of Nigeria, also around the corner.”
He also commended President Tinubu for “a great job he’s doing”, especially on removal of fuel subsidy, which previous administrations, including his own, could not do.
“I believe that we are on the verge of an economic turnaround in this country.
“We need a president who understands the economy and I believe that we have one now. That’s really part of what we discussed”, Sylva said.
