"Today I am a very happy man because when I came out before the governorship election in Bayelsa to say that Timipre Sylva cannot do the job for the second time in Bayelsa because he was not liked by
the people and was very unpopular at that time , nobody took me seriously. But today I am thanking God that he has shown Nigerians what I knew then", is a statement recently made by APC's Deputy National Publicity Secretary , Timi Frank on the baggage's of former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva.
Sylva is not a newbie in politics as he was the annoited son of former president Goodluck Jonathan in 2007 for the governorship elections shortly after Jonathan was nominated as the running mate to Umaru Musa Yar'Adua as vice-president. Problems started for Sylva when his policies and programmes were seen as anti-people by Bayelsan's , which further alienated him from the president . It wasn't a surprise he was impeached before the end of his tenure and also booted out of the PDP.
Shortly after leaving office , Sylva was arrested and charged to court by the operatives of the EFCC in a N19.3 billion fraud charge, committed while in office as Bayelsa State governor. While the trial lasted throughout the previous administration, Sylva quickly made a U-turn and joined the APC in the last election . Therefore, it might seem more than coincidence that after joining the APC and then the APC winning national elections, all the corruption cases against Sylva were suddenly dismissed by the judges and also in the short space of time, he was now referred to as a "True Democrat" by the same people who condemned him while he was governor and frolicking with the PDP.
It did not take long for the Brass born politician to embroil himself in further crisis, as he was accused of using thugs to intimate the governor of Edo State Comrade Adams Osheimole in-order to win an undue advantage during the gubernatorial primaries of the APC in Bayelsa state last year. It was clear from the moment the APC fielded Sylva in the election that the stakes had changed, hence the much maligned Seriki Dickson who is the incumbent governor now became the favourite and people's choice as Bayelsan's chose to continue to roast with Dickson than dine with Sylva, due to his abysmal records as governor.
Such was the disdain for Sylva that he was soundly beaten by Dickson in the polls which further explained the length Bayelsan's despised him. As one not outdone, Sylva has again been accused to have accepted bribe from Senator Heineken Lopobiri (current Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development), in-order to be nominate Lopobiri as a minister under the present administration. Senator Lopobiri was an active member of the PDP during the last election and was a member of the Senate. He was then suddenly publicly reported to have decamped to the APC when the PDP lost the elections at the national level and it is a known fact that he is not a registered member of the APC as revealed by Chief Timi Orunimigha (Bayelsa State APC Chairman).
It is difficult to doubt the allegation though the camp of Sylva have maintained Heineken was nominated to maintain equity in the state, but the quick, undue process and time that it took Lopobiri to turn from the PDP to the APC and then be nominated as minister by Sylva is suspicious and needs to be investigated by the party to avoid a future reoccurance.
Based on these accusations and counter-accusations, then it is safe to say that Timipre Sylva is like a lion who never changes it's spots and one who courts negative controversies at all costs. True or false, the story of Heineken Lopobiri and Timipre Sylva needs a clearer look.
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