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Newswatch: How is the governor preparing for the 2012 governorship race?

Egba: I am sure when you are talking about the race, you are referring to the PDP primaries. For us in Bayelsa, especially those of us working with the governor, who is seeking a second term mandate, we are more than prepared. This is because we are on ground.

Newswatch:  But the power brokers seem to think that he does not deserve a second-term mandate because he has not performed well so far.

Egba: I don’t know of  anybody who lives in Bayelsa State who will not agree that the governor has performed in office. But I can excuse those critics, especially other governorship aspirants and their loyalists who say this because if they don’t say so, what else would they have as reason to contest against  the governor? They are making this kind of allegation to justify their grand plan to contest against the governor. On a daily basis, the governor applies himself to the service of the people of Bayelsa, and people are feeling the impact of his administration, yet arm chair critics continue to spread falsehood about him.

Newswatch: Could you tell us in concrete terms some of those things you think he has done?

Egba: Not what I think he has done but what I know he has done, especially in Yenagoa town. All the internal roads you find in Yenagoa today were constructed by Chief Timi Sylva as governor. We have 52 of such roads. Any road you drive on, that connects Melford Okilo, which is the major road on this side, to the express on the other side, every road crisscrossing both roads were constructed by this governor. This massive Peace Park just across us here was constructed by this governor from scratch to finish. The Banquet Hall, though was started by the government of Mr. President, the governor finished it in his first hundred days. Revenue House there was also finished by the governor as he came into power. The state secretariat although finished by Mr. President, was furnished and put into use by the governor. Today, civil servants are using it. Even the Governor’s Lodge started by Mr. President was finished by the governor within 100 days. The Glory Land Castle which Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha started was completed by Governor Sylva and is free to be used by Bayelsa people now. We also have the Ikole Bridge which was 70 percent completed by Mr. President, but has now been fully completed. The Tower Hotel building which was initiated by the president was inherited at ground floor level but Sylva has  taken it to the 17th floor.

Newswatch: But many Bayelsa people contend that Sylva has not added a single block to that project.

Egba: But I personally took photographs of all these. As if the governor knew that this type of thing would come up, we chartered a helicopter to run over this town to take pictures of the projects that were on ground before the governor came in.  The Tower Hotel building had not even reached the first floor, when Sylva assumed office. Between 2007 and 2008 we took it to the 17th floor.

Newswatch: But many Bayelsans think that the work done by the governor so far is not commensurate with the huge amount the state collected from the federation account in the past four and half years which is about N500 billion?  

Egba: But I know that what was collected is a little above N340 billion, and nowhere near N500 billion as they claim. If anybody mentions that to you, again such people are exaggerating the figure to project the governor in bad light. I know that up to 2010, the government had collected about N340 billion. But again if you look at the work that has been done, you will also know, especially considering the terrain we have, that a lot of money has gone in. Remember that about 80 percent of our state is across water. So much has been done and so much is still going on.

Newswatch: What’s happening at the General Hospital which has now been re-named Melford Okilo Memorial Hospital?

 Egba: If you go there, you will see that people are working inside.

Newswatch: But the entire hospital has been overgrown with weeds.

Egba: Yes that is external. But if you go in there, you will see that all the internal facilities are being fixed as we speak.

Newswatch: There was a time the governor took about N75 billion loan through a consortium of banks, and later took another N50 billion bond. What actually were they used for?

Egba: They were tied strictly to projects. One of the projects tied to it was the Gateway Road. That road has phase 2 which ends up in government house here, with several bridges. That project and a few others were tied to the bond. But you may also want to know that in spite of whatever we owe, as we speak now, Bayelsa State government does not owe any bank.

Newswatch: So, you’ve paid all. But we understand that the governorment still pays N1.5 billion to the banks every month.

Egba: Even if we were paying N1.5 billion every month, the important thing is that we have finished paying. And this month as we speak, we are starting the payment of the N18,000 minimum wage.

Newswatch: With particular reference to the Gateway Road, some people said it was actually built by the president when he was governor, and that what was commissioned by the late Umaru Yar’Adua was a retouched project.

Egba: That alone shows you the shallow reasoning of the people that are making that allegation. If truly the president completed that road and the governor painted it for the president to commission, do you think the president would agree to do so and give the glory to the governor? True, the project was started by the president when he was governor, it was left at about 60 percent completion, and it was abandoned because Gitto, the contractors moved out of site.

Newswatch: Talking about the 2012 governorship race, are you not worried that there appears to be a grand design to scuttle the second-term ambition of your boss?

Egba: Honestly, I would have been worried if this was the first time we are experiencing this kind of thing. You know Chief Timipre Sylva is used to this kind of situation. I always trace it back to history of how he emerged. Virtually, everybody including my very self, never gave him a chance as far as being governor of Bayelsa State was concerned. But I think that he has the hand of God in his emergence. Human beings did not realise that God is at work in this project, just as God is involved in the project of President Goodluck Jonathan. So, it is not a surprise to us that some people  are opposing the governor in his second-term bid. This morning I  read that even Ben Bruce of Silverbird Television has also collected form for the guber race. Igali, who is a federal permanent secretary, is also said to have collected form, Alaibe is trying to collect.

But when you talk about the support of Mr. President, how are we going to share this support? Igali is also a close ally of the President, Ben Bruce is a friend of the President, Dickson is a friend of the President, and Alaibe is also claiming that Mr. President is asking him to contest. Mr. President has only one support to the best of our knowledge. Is he going to share the support across four or five people? But seriously speaking, I can tell you that none of these people has given us any cause to worry. The only thing we in the governor’s camp wish for, pray for and ask for is a level playing field.

Newswatch: So, what happens if the governor fails to get the ticket at the primaries?

Egba: No, that scenario will not arise and we don’t have a plan B. Sylva does not have a plan B.  Our plan A is to win the primary and ultimately win the election, that’s all.

Newswatch: Let me take you back to the relationship between the governor and the president. There was this security report that the governor had in a telephone conversation with the former commissioner of health threatened to deal with the president if he failed to secure the PDP governorship ticket. What really happened?

Egba: To be honest with you, I have not spoken to the governor about this. I have heard the story in several versions and I have also not spoken to the former commissioner. So, I am not really in a good position to comment on this. But if for any reason the governor offended the president, my thinking is that if the governor has apologised, I think the president will forgive him. There was a time this kind of rumour went round when the governor took office newly. That time, the President was vice-president. I went to the VP at that time and he granted me one hour and we talked about his relationship with the governor. At the end of the conversation, he told me he does not have any problem with the governor.

Newswatch: Why do you think the governor will triumph at the end against all odds?

Egba: Because of the process that is laid down by the party’s constitution. All the automatic delegates, majority of the automatic delegates are the governor’s people. They have all endorsed the governor. Then non-automatic delegates are going to be voted for in the wards. We are in charge politically in Bayelsa State for now.