A former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, and a former Nigerian Ambassador to Japan, Emmanuel Otiotio, on Monday submitted their expression of interest and nomination forms for the forthcoming All Progressives Congress governorship primaries.
They became the last set of aspirants to submit their forms at the party’s National Secretariat which will be a contest between them and the likes of the former Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, Chief Timi Alaibe.
After submitting his forms, Sylva told journalists that he is in the race to salvage the state and complete the good work he started but was not allowed to complete before he was forced out by a combination of forces from within and outside the state.
He accused the incumbent governor of the state, Seriake Dickson, of abandoning most of the projects he executed when he was the governor.
Sylva said, “As of 2012, we were poised to celebrate in 2013 one year of uninterrupted power supply in Yenogoa city. I had installed turbans and there was a turban that was 93 per cent complete when I was ousted. The outgoing government refused to inaugurate it because they did not want me to take the credit for it.
“I built a hospital that would have been one of the best in Nigeria and was to be inaugurated in May 2012. The outgoing government has refused to go near that hospital since I was ousted.
“There are a lot of projects that I embarked upon which were deliberately abandoned on the altar of politics. We were to inaugurate the Bayelsa State Library, but today, that project has been overgrown by weeds because somebody wants to mislead Nigerians.”
He expressed sadness kidnapping which was a thing of the past during his rule has staged a comeback under the watch of the current administration.
On his part, Otiotio said his decision to join the race was taken because he was prepared for the job and that the people of the state deserve a leader like him who will bring to bear integrity in running the affairs of the state.
He explained that among his credentials is the fact that he is a born again Christian who is prepared to govern the state with the fear of God.
Otiotio dismissed insinuations that he was acting out a script of one of the aspirants who allegedly paid for his nomination forms.
According to him, it is uncharitable for anyone to suggest that he is being sponsored by another aspirant.
Meanwhile, 12 aspirants have bought the forms valued at N6.5m to participate in the internal election of the party to select the party’s candidate for the December 5 governorship election.
Other aspirants are a former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission, Chief Timi Alaibe; ex-Chief of Staff, Bayelsa Government House, Chief Dikivie Ikiogha, and former two-time member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Warman Ogoriba.
Others are former senatorial aspirant, Preye Aganaba; Ambassador Felix Oboro, Powell Godknows, Kpolovie Obhoo, Christopher Enai, Romeo Bekeyai, Tonye Apirila, Ebitimi Amgbare and Fred Ekiegha.
