APC Will Better In Bayelsa State:Sylva

 

Timipre Sylva is the Governorship Candidate of All Progressives Party in the upcoming Bayelsa State Governorship Election. In this interview, he explains his aspirations and plans  if he wins the election. Excerpts.

 The Bayesa State Governorship Election is coming in November 11 and you an All Progressives Congresses Candidate in the incoming election. What do you thinks are your chances of winning?

  Bayelsa State is already agog and people are ready to vote for the APC. Of course as APC, we believe we can do a lot better and with Asiwaju at the center. A lot of people are moving from the PDP to the APC because they have seen that it is a better option.

We have so much more to offer to Bayelsans than the PDP can.

Why do you have that believe?

 The PDP has been here for over ten years and they really dont have too much to show for it. You see the state of the state capital, it is almost where we started and then if you compare that to how much they have received, then you will see that it is a foul cry from where we should be.

 You sound so confident. Are you banking on the power at the center to win?

With Asiwaju at the center showing us the way, we believe that Bayelsa State will be better off in the hands of APC and that is what we are telling our people and the message is well received.

 What is presently your relationship with David Lyon and Lokpobiri because it was evident  that you have been having some internal party wrangling?

We have settled. The national chairman on the divertive of Mr President called us at a settlement meeting and we all agreed that we are going to work together. After we met with the national chairman, the honourable Minister of states of petroleum and oil invited us to his house. Again in his house, we settled and we agreed to work together. So I as far as, I’m concerned, we are working together now and I have been in touch with him on the phone and I have also been in touch with David Lyon on the phone and we are working together as one unified party in the state.

Way forward?

 Right now we have a candidate which is myself and deputy governorship candidate which is Great Joshua Maciver. So all of us must join hands to ensure the victory of the APC. That’s all it is about now. It is not about personal interest. Of course, as a political party, there will always be camps in a political party even at the national level there are camps. APC in itself is an amalgam of many tendencies. If we have CPC, the APGA and ANPP coming together to form a party and of course these divisions are there.  Everybody is loyal to the party. That is the whole idea.

There will camps in every party. That is the whole idea of politics but it is expected that all camps should be loyal to the party and that is what we are doing now. Of course, I have my followers, Mr Lokpobiri has his followers. Mr David has his followers. That is what makes the party greater. We all come with our followers and all our followers at the end are loyal to the party.

 What are your plans if eventually you win the election?

Well first and foremost, there are a lot of things which I started which I have not completed which I believe will be completed during this time.

 Road projects, school projects, power projects. A lot of projects that I started which have not been completed. water project so this will give me an opportunity to complete those things that I started and then of course, I have also gained a new experience as the Minister of states  for petroleum. I have gained a lot of experiences. So I’m going to focus on the development of gas. For example, we have a lot of gas environment in Bayelsa State and we believe that that is actually at the foundation of the economy.

 If we are able to really join hands with the federal government and develop our gas resources here, it will really take the state to a different level. Apart from that, we also believe that we have a comparative advantage in the area of rice production because we have a lot of swamps. You can say that Bayelsa doesn’t have many things but we are not lacking in swamps and swamps are where the rice best.

So with all the experiences that I have gained and I’m going to bring them to bare in governance and development of Bayelsa State.

 

 What are your plans in the area Tourism?

 There is a  lot that can happen in Tourism just that I don’t want to claim to be able to do everything within the four years that I have. That is why I want to focus on the things that I can do which will be foundational to the development of some of these other things that other people will do.

 Of course, there is enough tourism potentials. If you go into our mangroves, you have an Eco- Tourism potential that is unbeatable of course, we have the longest coastline in Nigeria. We have 185 kilometers of coast line and that is all beaches. There are a lot of beaches and a lot of islands and so many things in Bayelsa State in the area of Tourism.

All these that you have mentioned, can you achieve them in four years?

 I cannot achieve everything in four years. That is why, I don’t want to say that I want to do everything. All the potentials of Bayelsa state will not be achieved within four years. It is not possible so we have to focus on the things we can achieve in four years and then of course, those who will come after us will do the rest. 

The Election is around the corner. What do you tell Bayelsans?

Bayelsa is a state with a lot of potentials and I believe that this the time for Bayelsa to achieve its greatness,  we must join hands to  give peace a chance because the problem that we have been having is lack of peace. If we can come together and give peace a chance, I can assure you that Bayelsa will be one of the richest place in Nigeria.  So I call on Bayelsans to join hands. Let’s be unified, let’s give peace a cadence and let’s work together for the greatness of our great Bayelsa State.