A former Governor of Bayelsa
state, Timipre Sylva, says ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s support for Baylesa
State Governor, Seriake Dickson, will not threaten his chances of returning to
Government House.
Sylva, who is seeking the
nomination of the All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming governorship
election, said this in an interview in Abuja, on Thursday.
According to him, the former
President’s support for Dickson was a clear indication that former President
Jonathan was the “President of Bayelsa State” and not the whole of Nigeria.
Sylva spoke after going through a
screening exercise, preparatory to contesting the APC governorship primaries.
He said, “Well, frankly, I am not
worried. I always say that the former President was the President of Bayelsa
State and he has proven me right. He has always been the President of Bayelsa
State; He was never the President of Nigeria.”
Asked what his chances of getting
the APC ticket were, Sylva said, “I feel that I have a good standing with the
people. As you can see, if you look behind me, you will see the array of people
who are here with me. Who else is left in Bayelsa? So I think that because of
the people who are with me, I stand a very good chance.”
Commenting on the speculations
that some aspirants were considering the possibility of stepping down for
others, he said, “There are some discussions going on. When it is time to make
it public, you will hear.”
A former Managing Director of the
Niger Delta Development Commission, Timi Alaibe, and a former Nigerian
Ambassador to Japan, Emmanuel Otiotio, are among the 19 aspirants who also
obtained nomination forms and attended the screening exercise ahead of the
party’s primaries.
Copyright PUNCH.
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