Former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has emerged as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 11, 2023 governorship election in Bayelsa State.
The former governor defeated the former candidate of the party in the last governorship election, David Lyon, and four other aspirants to emerge winner of the primary election which took place across the 105 wards in the eight local government areas of the state.
Sylva polled 52,061 out of the 55,141 total votes cast by delegates of the party in the state.
Lyon, who won the majority votes in the last gubernatorial election in the state before he was removed by the Supreme Court on the eve of his inauguration, came a distant third with 1,872 votes, while Joshua Maciver came second with 2,078 votes.
Announcing the results of the primaries on Saturday at the party secretariat in Yenagoa, the chairman of the APC Primary Election Committee, Major General Ahmed Jibrin (retd), said Sylva, “having scored the highest number of votes is declared the winner.”
Jibrin, who had earlier assured party members of a free, transparent and peaceful primary, commended the peaceful conduct of the election.
Six aspirants had earlier been cleared for the primary.
Sylva, represented by Sunny Goli, a member of the House of Representatives, at the collation centre, urged party members and chieftains to join hands with him to enable the APC to win the coming governorship election in November.
He praised the orderly conduct of the primaries and commended the party’s electoral body and delegates for the peaceful primary.
Speaking during the primaries at Okpoama, Brass LGA, Sylva had expressed confidence that he would be given the ticket.
He said he remained the only candidate that would be able to bring victory to the party.
There were indications that the primaries did not sit well with Lyon as he and his agents were conspicuously absent at the collation centre.
It was learnt that his supporters and those of Sylva’s clashed yesterday at the state secretariat before a team of police and soldiers came to disperse the aggrieved supporters.
Already, some party chieftains have begun to congratulate Sylva for winning the primary.
House of Assembly candidate, Ekeremor Constituency 2, Kennedy Olorogun, said Sylva’s victory was well deserved.
Olorogun called on other party members to support Sylva’s candidacy and urged him to extend hands of fellowship to fellow contestants.
