Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, was the subject of rumors on Thursday that he had resigned to pursue the governorship of Bayelsa State. Senior officials at his ministry could not confirm the resignation, although they acknowledged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) requires a minister to step down at least 30 days before the April 14, 2023 governorship primary. “I have not seen his resignation letter and cannot confirm whether he has resigned,” said an unnamed source at the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, who requested anonymity due to lack of authorization. “The party rule is that one must have resigned for at least 30 days before the primaries. If he has sent his resignation letter to the President, I cannot confirm, but the fact remains that he is vying for the office of governor of Bayelsa State.”
Sylva previously served a full term as Governor of Bayelsa from 2008 to 2012, then as a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which was the ruling party at the federal level at that time. The PDP is now the opposition. Recent reports indicate that some APC members in Bayelsa have urged the party’s national leadership to disqualify Sylva from the governorship primaries, citing his alleged failure to resign from his ministerial post. The petition, signed by party members from 43 wards across Ekeremor, Ogbia, Sagbama, Kolokuma/Opokuma, and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas, claims that Sylva had not resigned at the time he was screened for the primaries.
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