APC BAYELSA GOVERNORSHIP: SYLVA’S PLOT TO DECEIVE BAYELSANS AGAIN.

For some time now, I have kept quiet about this issue and will be seen to be doing my people the greatest disfavour if I don't remove this burden from my conscience by revealing the grand deceit being perpetrated by the leader of the All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa, Chief Timipre Sylva, against the good people of our state.



As events in the past few weeks have shown, the sudden entrance of Our own Chief David Lyon into the gubernatorial contest and his eventual emergence as the APC governorship candidate has thrown up a number of issues.



While many have celebrated his declaration as the candidate of our party in the November 16, 2019 governorship elections, quite a number of party leaders and members are angered by the observed irregularities that greeted the process of his emergence.



Aspirants who contested against are known leaders of our great party like Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri and Engr Preye Aganaba and are aggrieved as they hold the view that Chief Timipre Sylva imposed David Lyon on the party by scuttling the law and due process.



 Consequently, expectedly and rightfully so, Lokpobiri and Aganaba feel cheated out of the gubernatorial race and have approached the court in the quest for redress.



Although Chief David Lyon has been officially declared by the APC as the party's governorship candidate in the forth coming November 16, 2019 elections in Bayelsa, our party members are yet to have insight into the deceit behind the impositIon of David Lyon on our party.



We cannot ignore the fact that Chief Timipre Sylva had the intention to run for the governorship seat under the platform of the APC before his appointment as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. This was to be his third attempt at the governorship having lost in 2011 and 2015 consecutively against the current governor, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson.



His electoral mishaps compelled stakeholders to prevail on him to step down from the race, and accept the ministerial appointment. As the leader of the party, Timipre Sylva was given the opportunity to make input into the nomination of a candidate that would be acceptable to majority of our people.



However, Sylva’s choice of David Lyon elicited mixed feelings across the state as most people saw it as a surreptitious scheme to complete the term he had always claimed  was forcibly taken from him. This choice of David Lyon has resulted in serious doubts among our members who feel that Sylva must be up to something sinister.



Many have wondered why a politician of Sylvia’s worth and pedigree would opt for a political neophyte with no experience in governance like David Lyon as the candidate of the APC in Bayelsa. David Lyon, a self acclaimed businessman, is an oil installation surveillance contractor to AGIP in Bayelsa State.



It is the prevailing view that Chief Sylva who is the APC leader and the custodian of the 'party structure in the state, would prefer to remain so. Little wonder, he schemed the ticket out of Chief Timi Alaibe's hands and forced the National chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole to announce him as the candidate in 2011. It is clear that Sylva cannot afford to  relinquish the leadership position of the APC in Bayelsa to the likes of Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri and Preye Aganaba, who may pose a great danger to his ambition to rule the state in 2023.



It is common knowledge that David Lyon lacks the capacity to govern Bayelsa State hence the nomination of Degi Eremienyo as Lyon's running mate. If David Lyon succeeds, the plan is to impeach him after six months for lack of competence and then install a defacto governor in the person of Degi in preparation for his 2013 takeover agenda.



David Lyon is only a stooge and a puppet in the hands of Chief Timipre Sylva who will be used to finance the agenda and dumped as he has done to many others. Already, there are failed attempts to link our party to violence because of the antecedents òf Sylva which we should not encourage.



Timipre Sylva has used the choice of David Lyon as governorship candidate to cajole the Southern Ijaw people to throw their weight behind him in the forth coming governorship elections. This therefore is a clarion call to our  southern Ijaw brothers to 'shine their eyes' as would be said in our local parlance.



We all are aware that going by the unwritten zoning arrangements in Bayelsa State,  its not yet time for Southern Ijaw to produce the governor. We must note that if the intentions of Chief Silva were genuine, he would have opted for anyone out of the many qualified, politically experienced, tested and proven illustrious sons in either Kolokuma/Opokuma or Yenagoa LGAs. We must be seen to be supportive of the right of other regions in the senetorial district to produce the governor so same can be done to us.



On a final note, I wish to urge the people of SILGA to be watchful in order not to be used to pursue a selfish agenda.



Comrade JAMES OPUTEIN is Coordinator of APC YOUTHS FOR CHANGE NETWORK.                                                                                                                                                   -The opinions and views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer/author, and do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Headline News Nigeria