Yenagoa—Timipre Sylva, former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources has expressed appreciation to Party faithful and Bayelsans after being declared as the standard bearer of the APC in the just concluded governorship primaries of the party.
Addressing the press after the elections, Sylva lauded the conduct of the primary, describing it as peaceful, credible and reflective of the people’s wishes.
The former governor of Bayelsa state also thanked his co-aspirants, admitting that their ambition was borne out of love and patriotism for Bayelsa and the APC.
“This is not a personal victory, it is a collective one. Our party has once again demonstrated what true democracy is, how elections should be – peaceful, credible and reflective of the people’s wishes.
“I thank the other aspirants. As a party and as a people we owe them a debt of gratitude. I do not see their move as one of ambition, all I see, all that can be seen is true love and patriotism for our state and party.
“I thank members of our great party who came out en masse to vote. I know the dream that spurred you on – a better Bayelsa, a more accountable state, a truly prosperous state and the original Glory of All Lands.
“Together we will achieve that. I will work with the other aspirants and party stakeholders and we will create the Bayelsa we all yearn for, we will make every Bayelsan proud of our state.
“Our brothers and sisters from other political divides must have watched how the APC elections went. We demand the same decorum in the general elections. Bayelsans deserve the right to freely exercise their franchise, they must have a stake in their own state,” he said.
Sylva was on Saturday at the party secretariat in Yenagoa declared the winner by Major General A.T Jubrin—the APC election committee chairman—after reportedly garnering a total of 52,061 votes in the scheduled direct primary.
According to Jubrin, Great Joshua MacIver scored 2,078 votes, while Chief David Lyon got
1582 votes.
He further declared that, Prof. Ongoebi Etebu, Mrs. Ikisima Ogbomade and Barr. Festus Daumiebi polled 1277, 584 and 557 votes respectively.
