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Timipre Sylva, governor of Bayelsa State, loses the battle for his party’s governorship ticket and there are indications that this is only just the beginning of his troubles

The political intrigues and power play that have been associated with the preparations for the February 11, 2012 governorship race in Bayelsa State has finally led to the clipping of the wings of Timipre Sylva, governor of the state. Although the embattled governor fought spiritedly to get clearance to participate in the November 19 governorship primaries of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, his hope for a second term mandate on the platform of the party was dashed on Sunday, November 13 when he was disqualified by the National Working Committee, NWC.

Sylva was shut out from the governorship primaries along with three other aspirants, namely, Timi Alaibe, former managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Ben Murray Bruce, chairman of Silverbird Television and, Godknows Boladet Igali, a permanent secretary in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.

Seven aspirants were cleared for the party primaries. They include Justine Boloubo Orufa, Seriake Henry Dickson, Christopher Fullpower Enai, Youppele Kalango Michael, Francis Amaebi, Fred Ekiyegha and Austin Febo.

Rufai Ahmed Alkali, national publicity of the PDP said Sylva was excluded from the primaries following a painstaking review of the reports of the governorship screening and the governorship appeal screening panels as well as issues raised about each aspirant.  Newswatch, however, learnt that the issue of security raised against Sylva in the petition by Oracles Law Firm was the major factor that led to his disqualification.  It was further gathered that based on the security report, Sylva would likely be arrested for treason as soon as his tenure lapses in May, 2012.  Sources in the security circles said the allegations of treason against the governor have been investigated and the findings showed that the governor had a case to answer.

Sylva is aware of the alleged plan to try him for treason when his tenure expires.  The embattled governor who was jolted by the realities of his exclusion from the PDP primaries had while reacting to the development alleged that there was even a plan to arrest him for treason. Doifie Ola, chief press secretary to the governor, however, denied the allegation of any crime committed by the governor. “Governor Sylva wishes to bring to the attention of the public reports alleging that there are attempts to arrest him on trumped-up treasonable felony charges. The story is that there is a tape in which he (Sylva) threatened to kill President Goodluck Jonathan. This is completely false. At no time did Sylva threaten to kill President Jonathan. He has no reason whatsoever to wish the president or any other person dead,” Ola, said.

Sylva’s spokesman said that apart from alleged treasonable charges, his boss considered it disturbing that his full membership of the PDP was being abridged. “In particular, his fundamental right to vote and be voted for has been trampled upon by his own party, a party he has contributed so much in building. Consequently, Sylva and his supporters are reviewing the NWC decision.”

Before his disqualification from the primary, the Governors’ Forum led by Chibuike Amaechi, governor of Rivers State, had interceded to save him from his predicament. But it did not yield any positive result. Newswatch learnt that the governors of the South-South states, including Liyel Imoke of Cross River, Godswill Apkabio of Akwa-Ibom, and Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta, held a closed door parley, with President Jonathan on the night of Friday, November 11. Again, they were not able to sway him or make any headway in their last minute move to facilitate a soft landing for the battle- weary Sylva.

There were indications last week that apart from the security report, Jonathan was unwilling to save Sylva from the humiliation of becoming one of the incumbent governors to be denied his party’s ticket for a second term because the governor had allegedly worked against him in the past. Indeed, there has been a lingering rumour of a feud between Sylva and the president even though they both tried to play it down.

Indeed, the genesis of the conflict was in 2007 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo decided to make the then governor Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Jonathan the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the PDP. Jonathan’s nomination had come as a surprise to him, since he had no inkling of what destiny had in stock for him. Before then, he had won the PDP governorship ticket in Bayelsa State and was warming up for the race when Obasanjo persuaded him to be the late Yar’Adua’s running mate. Having forfeited his ticket, Sylva who came second in the primaries had to be drawn into a long battle, as it was an open secret that Jonathan preferred Francis Doukpola, a level-headed technocrat.

After intense power play, with the interference of PDP chieftains, including Edmund Daukoru, former petroleum minister, Sylva triumphed, becoming the party’s candidate in the 2007 governorship race. He won the election but never forgave Jonathan. He began the battle to dismantle the state party machinery set up by Jonathan. Fred Agbedi, the then party chairman and a few others loyal to Jonathan were ousted by Sylva. On the other hand, Jonathan appeared not to be comfortable with Sylva as his state governor.

In 2008, when the Appeal Court nullified Sylva’s election, there was an attempt to stop him from contesting the rerun poll. A few days to the election, the Sylva administration was being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over alleged diversion and misappropriation of public funds. He was, however, saved by the late President Yar’Adua who allegedly stopped the investigation and he also ensured that the PDP endorsed him for the rerun governorship election held on May 24, 2008. Sylva won but the feud between him and Jonathan lingered.

The feud got to a head in 2010, when Jonathan was battling to be made the acting president following the incapacitation of Yar’ Adua in a Saudi Hospital due to ill-health. It was alleged that instead of supporting Jonathan, Sylva allegedly took a position against him. His administration was alleged to have voted N500 million of public funds to sponsor campaign against the emergence of Jonathan then as acting president.  But Sylva denied profusely ever doing such thing. There is a strong belief in the political circles that Jonathan is the unseen hand behind Sylva’s unending woes. But Ahmed Ali Gulak, special adviser to the president on political matters, said last week that President Jonathan had no hand in Sylva’s travails. He was firm and unequivocal. “Let me clear this doubt. You will agree with me that Mr. President is a person who abides by the rules of the game. Mr. President is somebody who follows the rules and who obeys the laws. As a president in Africa, especially in Nigeria, all such allegations are to be expected. Even if a man fights with his wife because of domestic problems, it is not uncommon to blame it on Mr. President. The President is really involved in the art of governance of this country. The issue of who stands for election is completely left for the party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its constitution. And every person who is interested in testing his popularity with the people must abide by the rules of the party.”

He recalled that what  is currently happening to Sylva had happened to Chinwoke Mbadinuju, the then incumbent governor of Anambra State, in 2003, when he was excluded from participation in the primary election by the party. Gulak said that in the case of Sylva, the PDP has said that his disqualification bordered on national security. “The party must live up to expectation and also be sound and carry out the role as laid down in the constitution. And anybody who is a member of the PDP and who wants to contest election must be above board to meet the requirements of the rules laid down by the party,” Gulak said.

Indications that Sylva would face tough times in the days ahead emerged last Monday as hundreds of security men deployed to maintain the peace in the state reportedly barred him from coming out of Creek Haven, the seat of the Bayelsa State government when the PDP ward congresses took place. Fierce-looking policemen, in battle-gear, barricaded the gates to the Creek Havens and the PDP state secretariat and strategic locations in and around Yenagoa, the state capital. The police were armed with several Armoured Personnel Carriers, APCs, one of which was stationed on the entrance of the party’s secretariat. The men of the Joint Military Task Force, JTF, were equally at alert in order to ward off any breakdown of law and order. Neighbouring communities to Yenagoa metropolis such as Imiringi, Ogbia, Otuokpoti and Otuoke, Jonathan’s country home, witnessed heavy security presence.

Eguaveon Emokpae, police public relations officer, PPRO, of the Bayelsa State Police Command, said the heavy security presence was part of the strategy to ensure effective security of the state as tension mounted in the state over PDP governorship primaries.

Last week, Sylva’s lawyers filed an application for an injunction at an AbujaHigh Court, restraining the PDP from conducting the primaries last Saturday. He also challenged the decision of the National Working Committee of the party, which barred him from the primaries without giving ‘cogent reasons’ for his disqualification. Last Wednesday, the court granted an injunction restraining the PDP from conducting the primary as Sylva had prayed. But as at press time last week, the PDP was making frantic efforts to vacate the order.

Sylva, who appears bent on securing the PDP governorship ticket at all cost had also written a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, urging the electoral umpire to stop the primary election.  In a letter dated November 15, addressed to Attahiru Jega, INEC chairman, through Femi Falana, his lawyer, Sylva is claiming the PDP governorship ticket. Sylva said his name should be sent as the PDP candidate on the basis of the January primary election, which he won. But a Federal High Court, judgement, upheld by the Court of Appeal stopped INEC from conducting governorship elections in five states, including Bayelsa, where rerun elections were held. He claimed that a fresh primary election will amount to substituting his name, which is against the provision of the Electoral Act.

Sylva, has other strategies to ensure that his re-election bid is not torpedoed by the PDP, one of which is to defect to another party to actualise his second term ambition. He was said to be considering defecting to the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, or All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, if his last minute legal battles failed to secure the PDP ticket for him.

But Lai Mohammed, national publicity secretary of the ACN, last week refused to confirm or deny that Sylva had approached the party to discuss the possibility of his running under the party’s platform. Asked if the party would be ready to accept the Bayelsa State governor if he indicates interest in vying under its platform, Mohammed said: “We will cross the bridge when we get there.”  The leadership of APGA also neither denied nor confirmed whether Sylva had approached them.

Now that Sylva appears to be fighting a losing battle, the coast seems clear for Dickson, his closest rival in the 2012 race to Creek Haven to secure the PDP ticket. In the past few weeks, Dickson, who is currently a member of the House of Representatives, representing Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency I, has had his campaign posters in strategic locations in Yenagoa.  Before now, he had aptly demonstrated his resolve to confront any contestant headlong in the battle to clinch the PDP ticket.

Already, Green Movement which was the political structure created by Jonathan when he served as Bayelsa governor has adopted Dickson as its consensus candidate. It was gathered that the Green Movement helped Sylva to win election in 2007, but when he got to power, he abandoned members of the group who assisted him.

Joe Ambakederimo, a prominent Bayelsa State indigene who wrote a petition against Sylva to the EFCC in 2010 believes that although Dickson is a credible candidate, Doukpola, whom Jonathan had endorsed in 2007 is equally a level-headed technocrat fit for the plum job. He, however, told Newswatch  his happiness was that Sylva’s days in Creek Haven were  numbered.

Reported by Godfrey Azubike