From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
As predicted by political analysts conversant with the politics of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, immediate past Minister of State, Petroleum Resources and former governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva was declared the winner of the governorship primary and now the party’s standard bearer in the November 11 governorship election.
The Major- General Ahmed Jibrin-led Election Committee which conducted the primary using the Direct Mode announced that Sylva polled 52,061 votes to defeat five other aspirants namely, Joshua Maciver(2,078 votes), former governor-elect, David Lyon (1,582 votes), Prof Ongoebi Maureen Etebu( 1,277 votes), Mrs Ikisima Ogbomade (584 votes) and Festus Daumiebi (557 votes).
Though Lyon and Daumiebi have rejected the results claiming that the results did not reflect the wishes of party members, Maciver and Etebu in sharp disagreement have commended the process that led to the emergence of Sylva declaring that there is ‘’no victor, no vanquished’’.
Political observers have also insisted that there was no way any of the aspirants individually or collectively could have mustered the required political muscle to win Sylva given the factors that were seemingly in his favour,
No anointed candidate
Investigations revealed that due to the cold shoulders towards the primary election from Aso Rock since President Muhammadu Buhari is already in the twilight of his administration, there was intense lobbying to get the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Working Committee to anoint a candidate. Lobbyists were said to have contacted those that have the ears of Tinubu, including some family members to get the President-elect’s endorsement but it failed to materialise. Some loyalists of Lyon were also said to have mounted pressure to get the NWC to give him the option of first refusal being the winner of the 2019 governorship election and who was already a governor-elect before the Supreme Court sacked him on the eve of his inauguration.
Some influential members of the party and the NWC had sympathy for Lyon but their hands were tied as the option was off the table due to legal hurdles.
The party’s national publicity secretary, Mr Felix Morka who admitted that party leaders have sympathy for Lyon over the loss of his mandate in 2022 said the issue at stake was beyond sentiments.
According to him, the party leadership decided that in line with the laws of the land and in the interest of fairness, all the aspirants should go to the field to test their popularity.
He (David Lyon) contested the election and he won and the majority votes that he scored were never challenged or disputed.
“So, the fact that he was not inaugurated as governor was not because there was any question mark on his victory.
He won the election free and clear but unfortunately, some technical issues with the fellow who ran with him warranted some court order and deprived him of the fruit of that success.
“The people cast their votes for him years ago and they should vote for him if he is still their preferred choice.
“They spoke loud and clear and now that a time has come for that election, we’re hoping that as citizens, they’re free to go to the primaries, for those of them who are members of the party to support him if that is their preference still or support any of the other aspirants in the race,” he said.
If this was up to individuals, I’m quite sure that the sentiments are with David Lyon but when you have laws that govern the process, the Electoral Act, the party’s constitution, the Federal Constitution of Nigeria at play, when people insist they want a competitive, fair, transparent process, and invoke provisions of the constitutions and the Electoral Act, you can’t shove it aside.
“If you take a barometer and measure the level of sympathy for David Lyon, yes, even amongst the leaders of the party, there are many who have enormous sympathy for his situation but at the end of the day, you cannot use sympathy to upstage legality and due process.
“Sometimes, no matter the strength of your sentiments, you yield to the law because if you don’t, the judges will not be governed by sentiments if the matter goes to court in a legal challenge.”
Power play
Few days into the primary election, the opposition against Sylva flew a kite with reports that he (Sylva) had agreed to step down for Lyon with the intention to confuse party members. Those behind the stories were also lobbying to ensure its sympathizers make the Election and Appeal Committees for the primary election. Findings indicated that the composition of the two committees was filled with intrigues until it settled for Major General Ahmed Jibrin(rtd) for the Election Committee and DIG Habila Joshua(rtd) for the Appeal Committee.
Based on strict instructions from the leadership of the party and Morka’s declaration that the party expects the panel in Bayelsa to “conduct the election with the highest possible standards of fairness and objectivity,” adding that “we will absolutely not accept anything that is less than stellar, that is less than transparent and fair.” The two committees held series of meetings with stakeholders and aspirants to reassure them of neutrality and address grey areas.
At the end of engagements, General Jibrin in an interview said the panel is in Bayelsa to conduct a primary devoid of rancour.
“We had a stakeholders meeting, we explained to them the modalities of the conduct of the primary election. We also met with all the security agencies in the state to inform them of the exercise, and we were assured of adequate security.
“It will be option A4 mode, in all the 105 wards in the 8 Local Government Areas of the state, after which it will be collated by the relevant Presiding Officers and taken to the Local Government headquarters where the second stage of collation is done before finally it is brought to the state headquarters in Yenagoa for further compilation and announcement of results.
“We will also have an affirmation exercise which will take place on Saturday, where five members from each of the 105 wards will affirm the exercise.
“Those to participate are members of the party whose names are on the register of the party. Accreditation will be done through their registration slip as party members, and those with PVCs are with an added advantage.
“We have put in all measures to ensure a free and fair exercise, a compilation of the voters register based on our party register. Registration identity cards and slips will be presented for accreditation. We have visited all the security to solicit their support, met with INEC, and got advice from them to act within the guidelines of the party. We also had the stakeholders meeting with all aspirants and their agents.
“One of their doubts was on those who are going to conduct the elections at the ward level, and we explained how the persons were chosen.”
Investigations revealed that a last minute plot to use a member of the National Assembly close to the President-elect to subtle ‘anoint’ one of the aspirants was foiled by the Sylva’s camp.
‘’We got wind that one of the aspirants said he has been endorsed by an influential member of the National Assembly from South- West close to Tinubu, we had to work the phones and the said National Assembly member disown the aspirant, declaring that he has no interest in the election other than the people the members picked’’, said an impeccable source.
Sylva’s landslide victory
Signs that it was Sylva’s election to lose emerged on the eve of the election when his appearance at the party’s secretariat electrified the venue with shouts of Sylva’s cognomen, ‘ The Don Pigatin’, ‘ The Opu Abadi’, ‘ The Ajana 1’ used by supporters to celebrate his political astuteness rent the air. By the time the returning officers delivered the results to the committee, it was crystal clear that as a master of the game, Sylva was miles ahead of his opponents. He did not only win with the highest number of votes, he also won big in all the local governments including home local governments of all the other aspirants.
Maciver in a post-election speech said it was inevitable that the results would favour Sylva considering his enormous goodwill and network of loyalists in the party.
Maciver, popularly known as the leader of the Izon-Tukpa Movement expressed satisfaction in the process, saying that he will queue behind the winner to ensure victory in the general elections. He assured supporters that the All Progressives Congress, APC, will win the general elections.
“The Honourable former Minister worked very well. Let me assure you today that we’ll take the state in November 2023. We entered the race and did our permutations very well but we knew that it was going to be hard to defeat the former Minister. It is a known fact that none can match the former Minister in the state as far as APC is concerned.
Sylva‘s agents and member representing Nembe/ Brass Federal Constituency, Hon Israel Sunny- Goli said the election of Sylva as the party’s candidate is a confirmation that he is the next governor of Bayelsa State.
“Let commend the Election Committee for their dedication. I want to commend all the other aspirants for their comportment. The party has taken the right step by electing Chief Timipre Sylva as the party’s candidate because by the grace of God, he is going to emerge the next governor of the state.”
The battle ahead
Now that Sylva has won the election to emerge the party’s standard bearer, his supporters say is on the return to Creek Haven. But he needs to win the battle of forging unity in his party if he is to have a chance at the November 11 off-season Bayelsa governorship election.
Barring unforeseen circumstances to warrant cancellation of the process as there was no evidence before the Appeal Committee on the conduct of the primary election prompting the NWC to forward Sylva’s name to INEC, the former minister needs unity in his party more than ever.
Lyon and Daumiebi are clearly not happy with the outcome of the election. Lyon believes he has been unfairly treated by the party and Sylva, while Daumiebi is of the view that he has also been cheated. It is now the responsibility of Sylva to play the role of a leader to get all party members behind him as he confronts the formidable ruling party in the state led by Governor Douye Diri. How he goes about this to bolster his electoral chances is entirely in his hands.