Sylva has no capacity to win election in Bayelsa – APC chieftain

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the former lawmaker representing Nembe/Brass Federal Constituency, Hon. Isreal Sunny-Goli, has said the candidate of the APC and the former Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, has no capacity to win the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state.

Sunny-Goli, who is a key stakeholder in the APC and core loyalist to Sylva, dismissed the claims that he will defect to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, insisting that he remains a member of the APC.

Briefing newsmen in Yenagoa on Thursday, the former lawmaker said the former Sylva, his principal of over 20 years, has no structure to defeat Governor Douye Diri of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

He said that though there are other members of the party that will support Sylvia, “My interest is not in him. I pulled out, and it doesn’t mean the party will not conduct an election, so that tomorrow people will not take loyalty and support for granted.”

He said, “There are speculations about my political journey as we approach the November 11 Gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State. Some people said I would soon decamp to the PDP and abandon my party and principal, Timipre Sylva. So I feel there’s a need to clear the air on my decision. I am not decamping to the PDP.

“I have been a foundation member of the APC since 2014, and I was elected as a member of the House of Assembly to represent Brass Constituency 1, and thereafter elected as a member representing Nembe/Brass Federal Constituency. I am still a member and we will remain in the party.

“We just elected a new president of the country from our party, and I will continue to support him to succeed.

“I am monitoring the political events as the different candidates begin their campaigns to win the hearts of the people of Bayelsa, Timipre Sylva and the APC do not have the structure to win elections to defeat the incumbent governor of the state.

“Election victories are properly planned for, not in just three months, which is what he is doing. If the election is conducted today, Douye Diri will coast home to victory. He will win all eight local government areas by a landslide. We are all politicians, and we know what it takes to win an election.”


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