The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, has reportedly resigned from the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Minister submitted his resignation letter to President Buhari in Abuja on Friday.
It is widely believed that Mr Sylva has the intention to contest the governorship election in Bayelsa State and will participate in the forthcoming All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election that is likely to hold anytime in April.
Mr Sylva had governed former President Goodluck Jonathan’s home state, Bayelsa, for one term and has constitutional rights to contest for another tenure of four years.
The Minister’s Senior Adviser on Media, and Communications, Mr Horatius Egua, has not denied or confirmed his boss’ alleged resignation, claiming he had not seen the resignation letter or be officially informed of the development.
Mr Sylva governed the state under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between 2008 and 2012 but switched alliances with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Recall that n 2007, a member of Action Congress (AC), Mr Ebitimi Amgbare, filed a suit to challenge his victory.
Mr Amgbare took the case all the way to the appeal court in Port Harcourt, and on April 15, 2008, that court overturned the decision of the Bayelsa State Election Petitions Tribunal and declared Mr Sylva’s election to be invalid.
This occurred despite the fact that the Bayelsa State Election Petitions Tribunal had previously ruled in Mr Sylva’s favour.
The five judges on the appellate court came to a conclusion without dissent and issued an order mandating that Speaker, Mr Werinipre Seibarugo, be sworn in to replace Mr Sylva in his role as acting Governor, with a new election to take place within the next three months.
On May 24, 2008, a new election was held, and Mr Sylva, who was standing again as the PDP candidate, was elected with an overwhelming majority of the votes, receiving 588,204 of around 598,000 total votes.
However, in 2012, his tenure was terminated by the Supreme Court, with an acting governor appointed to oversee the state.
President Buhari appointed the politician on August 21, 2019, to replace Mr Ibe Kachikwu, who earlier held the position.
Since the President self-appointed himself as the Minister of Petroleum, Mr Sylva is officially recognised as the junior minister.
He oversaw many developments in the Nigerian energy space, including the landmark Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, as well as driving President Buhari’s Decade of Gas initiative.
