Why Sylva will win Bayelsa guber election –Asu Beks

Posted by admin Bayelsa, Election 2015, Elections, General Politics, Headlines, State News Sunday, November 22nd, 2015

As the December 5, Governorship Polls in Bayelsa State draws near, Elder Asu Beks, President, Ijaw People’s Assembly, takes a look at the chances of the APC candidates, Chief Timipre Sylva, and says he is the man to beat.

What are the chances of Chief Timi Sylva?

A The December 5, Polls in Bayelsa present the brightest of opportunities for former Governor Timipre Sylva. In 2007 when he ran for his Governorship election, his major challenger was an incumbent Governor Goodluck Jonathan who carried the banner of the party at the centre. The story is however slightly different in 2015. On December 5, Chief Sylva’s main challenger, is Governor Seriake Dickson, a man who has been openly rejected by the old and young, men and women due to his anti-people policies in the past 4 years. Don’t also forget that our people have had a long history from the days of late Melford Okilo, of not playing opposition politics and since APC is at the centre, it should be expected that Chief Timipre Sylva would have a clean sweep. And if you also consider the fact that Chief Sylva is a youth and gender friendly Governor during his first term you can be rest assured that December 5 would be a mere formality. The people of Bayelsa crave for change and the change is Chief Timipre Sylva.

Governor Seriake Dickson had often described Chief Timipre Timipre Sylva as a very violent man whose reign as Governor witnessed the darkest days in the history of Bayelsa State. Do you agree with him?

Nothing can be far from the truth than this assertion. At the defunct National Concord Newspapers where I worked for several years and cut my teeth as a journalist, the Motto is: Truth is constant. Those who attempt to distort history do so at their peril. Now lets go down memory lane. Chief Sylva took over as Governor of Bayelsa in May 2007 at a time where militancy in the Niger Delta was at its peak, youth restiveness in the region was at its peak occasioned by the call for the enforcement of the Kaiama declaration. The JTF and Niger Delta Militants were engaged in daily confrontation. Oil installation and expatriates working in the region were no longer secure. As a proactive and youth friendly leader, Governor Sylva then approached late President Yar’Adua with an olive branch where he presented a blueprint for peace in the Niger Delta which ultimately led to the establishment of the Federal Government Amnesty Programme. And this was now the Niger Delta Youth laid down their arms and embraced peace. Today, it is on record that y this singular gesture of Chief Timipre Sylva won for him various accodates both from local and international bodies.

But barely four years after Chief Sylva stepped aside, Bayelsa has now become the hotbed of kidnappers. All the structures that he put in place to curtail violence and criminality was dismantled by Governor Dickson and rather than take responsibility for his failure he has gone on a wild goose chase and name calling, nothing could be more unpatriotic.

Governor Seriake Dickson is an enemy of peace. A few examples may suffice. Early this year, Governor Seriake Dickson led thugs and some members of his anti crime out fit, called “DOO AKPO” to sack a court in session in Yenagoa. A pregnant lawyer was beaten to a state of COMA and court properties were destroyed. The video of this dastardly act is still trending in the social media. I have on good authority that the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA has issued him a querry with possibility that his practicing license as a lawyer might be withdraw. And only recently, Governor Dickson sent thugs to beat up APC volunteers who were on ‘clean up Yenagoa City’ campaign.

With the foregoing it has become clear to Bayelsans who between Sylva and Dickson is the violent one.

Some Bayelsans insist Chief Timipre Sylva was a colossal failure during his first tenure. what are his chances on December 5, against an incumbent Governor Dickson?

There is no Governor in the history of Bayelsa that had achieved as much as Chief Timipre Sylva. It is on record that Chief Timipre Sylva constructed and commissioned 52 internal roads within his first 100 days in office. Given an obvious empty treasury he met when he took over from Dr. Goodluck Jonathan political pundits have been kept guessing as to how he was able to achieve this rare feat.

When Sylva took over he did not toe the path of other politicians who when they take over would abandoned projects embarked upon by their predecessors and start new ones. Some of the uncompleted projects he took on and completed with record time included the Banquet Hall, the State Secretariat Complex, the Gloryland Castle. Others include the construction of the Peace Park, the Nigerian Law School, Construction of New Commissioners Estate and New Legislative Quarters. In the Health Sector, the 500 bed hospital which the Sylva administration redesigned to 350 would have been commissioned in May 2012 but for the termination of his tenure. Sylva also constructed and commissioned the Ultra Modern Diette Koki Memorial Hospital, Opolo.

In the educational sector, almost all the courses at the Niger Delta Universities were accredited unlike the current situation when NUC has withdraw accreditations of almost 15 course. Sylva also built 8 senatorial model schools, constructed Modern UBE schools, the construction of a Modern Library for the state, and was instrumental for the citing of the federal University of Otuoke, the Federal Polytechnic Ekowe and Isaac Jasper Boro College of Education. Under him, the NDU was properly funded and allocations were gotten as at when due. As a youth friendly Governor, Chief Sylva employed over 8,000 youth from the 8 Local Government Areas under the Bayelsa Youth Volunteers Scheme. Chief Sylva also initiated the three Senatorial roads project which remain very dear to his heart. The Peace Park and the construction of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Centre are among other laudable projects of Chief Timi Sylva. These and many other laudable projects are why Bayelsans say Sylva is the man to beat on December 5.

Chief Sylva was in Lagos recently to launch his blue print for a new Bayelsa. some Bayelsans believe this event should have held in Yenagoa, not Lagos.

Let me correct an impression here, that event was not a political campaign event, it was a forum designed to show case the vast potentials of Bayelsa to the business community in Lagos. Don’t forget that receipts from oil have reached an all time low and the incoming Sylva administration came to Lagos primarily to woo captains of Industry to take advantage of the vast opportunities such as oil and gas, maritime, fisheries, tourism, agro based industries majority of which have remained untapped. As it were the audience you saw at the “Evening with Chief Timipre Sylva” was essentially captains of industry and a few political associates of his. You will agree with me that it is much easier and expedient to meet these great minds in business here in Lagos than inviting them to Yenagoa.

Former President GEJ once described the PDP as “Ijaw Party” to which every Ijaw son should belong. Will Bayelsans dump PDP for APC?

I want to believe that former President Goodluck Jonathan was quoted out of context. First and foremost the PDP which prides itself as the only “National Party” cannot be ascribed to be an “Ijaw Party” Tell me, who are the Ijaws in the PDP NEC? Besides what Ijaws gain from PDP? Was it in terms of appointments? Is it on allocation of federal projects? But for the doctrine of necessity occasioned by Yar’Adua’s death Dr. Goodluck Jonathan would not have become President of Nigeria

In fact, PDP was anti-Ijaw in the sense that the only project which mattered to the Ijaw people – the East West Road – was left uncompleted at a time the federal government was busy commissioning super highway project in other parts of the country. Our sons, Mike Zuokumor and John Atte, who were eminently qualified to head the police and Customs respectively, were blatantly told to their face that they could not be IGC and CGC.

One Timi Frank, a national officer of the APC said recently that the APC was doomed to lose this election when it went ahead to field Chief Timi Sylva. Do you agree with this view?

This is the most myopic vie w I have heard from a party member. In the contrary Chief Timipre Sylva remains the best brand for the APC on December 5. Anything to the contrary would have been a water shed. No one changes a winning team, and the APC is very mindful of this. Sylva remains the most credible candidate for the December 5 Polls. Don’t forget how he was robbed in 2011 by the PDP to pave way for Dickson. Today, the PDP will pay dearly for fraudulently denying Chief Timi Sylva the mandate for a second term. You can imagine how a sitting governor who successfully went through the party’s screening process was given a provisional clearance only for the clearance to be withdrawn. You will recall how the Governor Ameachi led Governor’s Forum made several trips to Aso Rock to plead with GEJ but he refused to shift grounds. December 5, Chief Timi Sylva would have the last laugh, and what a sweet ending for four agonizing years for a man who was scorned, haunted and humiliated.

-Sunwp_posts

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Posted by admin on Nov 22 2015. Filed under Bayelsa, Election 2015, Elections, General Politics, Headlines, State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry