It is unthinkable that a governor would be disqualified in a screening of his party for the primaries.
Strangely, it happened in the case of Governor Timipire Sylva of Bayelsa state, the home state of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Intrigues, allegations upon allegations, imaginary and real, back-stabbing, betrayal, jealously and outright hatred have led to the disqualification of Timipire Sylva by the screening committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), in their screening of candidates for the primaries held at their South-South Zonal office, in Port Harcourt, recently.
The push for his removal was so strong that even Timi Alaibe, who desperately wants to rule Bayelsa, took the ignoble steps of the former vice president of Nigeria, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, who decided to swallow his vomit, going back to PDP, after leaving the party and heading the Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN), as their presidential candidate in the 2007 elections.
Like him, Timi Alaibe who contested for the governorship position on the platform of Labour Party in Bayelsa state after leaving PDP, came back to the party, to contest the governorship position in the upcoming 2012 governorship election in Bayelsa state.
Unfortunately, like Sylva, he was screened out, together with Ben Murray Bruce of Silverbird Television.
Some of the sins of Sylva, as alleged by some Bayelsans, include, poor infrastructural development, lack of people-oriented projects despite huge allocations, misuse of N75 billion bond from the capital market to complete projects, ravaging of the state treasury and collaboration with top officials of ministry of finance to defraud the state, which led to arrest, detention and prosecution of some of them.
According to Kime Engozu, a civil rights activist, Gov. Sylva has impoverished the state leading to hardship for the citizens. He wrote him off as a failure and advised against his contest of the 2012 governorship election.
The animosity against Gov. Sylva was so strong that Bayelsans threw satchet water at him in October 2010 while delivering his address to President Jonathan during a visit to Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State.
Listing some of the sins of Gov. Sylva, Engozu said Sylva could not complete an 800 bed hospital started by former governor Alamieseigha and brought up to 80% completion by president Jonathan, could not complete the Tower Hotel, a five star hotel initiated by president Jonathan, could not complete Bishop Dimeari Memorial Grammar school, Yenagoa, after demolishing it, closing down Bayelsa state College of Arts and Science, (BICAS), selling of assembly and commissioners quarters.
The several allegations seemed to have convinced the PDP screening committee to disqualify him.
However, Nathan Egba, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information, said Timipire Sylva holds sway politically in the state.
He insisted that the governor has performed creditably and dismissed the various allegations.
He said all the internal roads in Yenagoa were constructed by Sylva and that there are 52 of them.
The commissioner also mentioned the Peace Park, Revenue House, furnishing of the state secretariat, completion of Glory Land estate and completion of Ikole bridge.
He said the amount collected in four years in the state amounted to a little above N340 billion and not N500 billion as claimed.
Governors of the South South are said to have met the president to solicit for Governor Timipre Sylva in what may be described as espri d’corps. ###
previous post
