A THOUSAND AND ONE REASONS WHY TIMIPRE SYLVA CAN’T BE GOVERNOR OF BAYELSA STATE AGAIN BY HON. OGIDI BEN BARA OBB.

To whom much is given, much is expected. To know a prudent son is as easy as entrusting enough resources at his disposal to ascertain his level of prudence, or, crown such a son with powers beyond his expectations to decipher what he does with it.

Having x-rayed the political dispensation of chief Timipre Sylva from when he was Executive Governor of Bayelsa State to when he finished his term as Minister of Petroleum State, I was able to justly gather numerous reasons as to why Sylva can not be trusted with a political office, talk more of the office of the Executive Governor of Bayelsa State. The Creek Haven is not a place for political compensation, neither is it a place for revenge against political enemies. The Creek Haven is meant for those who have the heart of the people, those whom under their government the governed will be safe, a place meant for civilized and non criminal elements, not a harbour for militants and thugs.

As Executive Governor of Bayelsa State, chief Timipre Sylva displayed a high sense of mismanagement and recklessness; may be he was power drunk. To begin with the amount of resources that was misappropriated and squandered under his watch as the Executive Governor of Bayelsa State, the Timi Alaibe-led Financial Management Committee that was set up to look into the finances of the state during Syver’s tenure revealed a disappointing situation of how Six Hundred and Sixty Billion Naira (N 660,000,000,000 ) was squandered in five years under his watch as Governor, and to add salt to the injury, a whopping Two Hundred Billion Naira (N 200,000,000,000) worth of Liability to contend with.

The figures above were not a product of political witch-hunt, neither were the figures generates out of numerical errors but an outcome of a fine investigation led by men of high repute, men of valor and noble men that would always be diligent in any assigned task as many would agree with my view.

No doubts, if we go round Bayelsa State today, no matching projects to N660,000,000,000 can be seen, not even 30% of the aforementioned figure that can be tight to chief Timipre Sylva. This is so pathetic, so disheartening and very devilish. How then can any normal and average Bayelsan who is not egocentric, support such a personality to be their Governor again? Were the Children of Israel actually not tired during their stay in Egypt!!! God Forbid a reoccurrence to the people of Bayelsa State what they have struggled over the years to overcome. His financial recklessness inspired me to add to the Wiktionary and the Encyclopedia Britannica a word called” SYLVA-PHOBIA” meaning a natural hatred for doings liken to that of Timipre Sylva. We therefore vehemently refuse to entrust him with the resources of the Glory of All Lands for a second time.

Security, which oughts to be the primary concern of any responsible government was nothing to write home about under Chief Timipre Sylva. In fact, Security became a conduit for embezzlement where a whopping Twenty-Eight Billion Naira ( N28,000,000,000) was expended between January 2010 and February 2012 as disclosed by the Alaibe Committee! The actual issue was not the amount spent but the fact that the security situation saw no improvements, rather, it degenerated the state to “Bagdat”. Youths were unjustly massacred, it was like a holocaust; a hecatomb! No one was safe except you decided to join Militancy as these were the sorts of people that inhabited the Creek Haven and were well respected as friends of the Governor. A lot of innocent youths fled the state for fear of arbitrary arrest and execution. This is not to say some miscreants were not victimized. However, the ” Fam Tangbe operation” was not selective as the fate of everyone, good or bad was in the hands of ” Fam- Tangbe”. The guilty and the innocent alike were scared, what a pitiable situation!

Today, everyone in Bayelsa State is free to go about their normal businesses at day or night. Insecurity is now a thing of the past in Bayelsa State as the security apparatus is very sensitive to detect criminal elements in the Issues of cult clashes and kidnapping have been silent under the Diri-led Administration, unlike before when Bayelsans slept with an eye wide open.

As Minister of Petroleum State, his term in office seemed more like a waste of time and chance to the average Bayelsan. I have driven around the state, gone to his Local Government and beyond just to realize all they said they were doing was just on audio.

They can’t boast of any two projects they started and completed within Bayelsa State during their term in office as Minister of Petroleum State. Oh! the Atala Oil Field! Where did we ever go wrong? The said oil field was ceded to Rivers State from Bayelsa State at a time when a ” Son-of-the Soil “was Minister of Petroleum State. When are these people actually planning to help Bayelsa and Bayelsans? God Forbid. No Vacancy at the Creek Haven, it’s either Douye Diri or Diri Douye!.

Recently, Chief Timipre Sylva expressed his interest in delivering pregnancy kits to pregnant women in Bayelsa State, as well as providing Wheel-chairs and the like to persons with disabilities. What a shame! A few months to the gubernatorial elections and now this! Where were all these so-called donations a year or two ago, three or four years ago? Chief Timipre Sylva lived as if he was an alien, as if he was in a diaspora, with little or no access to him and suddenly with their selfish interest have become ” Father Christmas”, this is laughable! Bayelsans are wiser more than he has conceived in his heart. We refuse to be penny-wise, Pounds foolish! Enough is Enough, the Bayelsa Pharaoh, please Let My People Go.

I , Hon. Ogidi Ben Bara OBB and the entire membership of Ward-2-Ward stand with the Prosperity Administration and I endorse the continuity agenda of His Excellency Senator Douye Diri. My followers are also doing the same, we reserve no support, all our support goes to the continuity agenda of the Prosperity Administration. I, therefore, therefore implore all well-meaning Bayelsans to do the same for the good of the state.

Bayelsa is progressing under the Prosperity Administration, all local Governments are busy with one gigantic project or the other. This is all we want, that is what Douye Diri is doing. The State capital Yenagoa has its own ” moon”, the days and the nights are bright 🌞🌞🌞.

Link roads are linking all Local Governments, Pensioners are smiling home every month, civil servants who were a shadow of themselves are becoming diversified because of regular payment of salaries, the state is peaceful, elections are not bloody, youths are continually being empowered and uplifted, internal roads are maintained, new roads are constructed daily, businesses are striving, I could go on and on.

Say No to Sylva, say no to bad governance, say no to violence, say no to insecurity, say no to financial recklessness, say no to cultism, say no to gangsterism, say no to Militancy, say no to bloody elections, say no to the APC come number 11th.

Vote HE Senator Douye Diri, vote Prosperity, Vote Progress, Vote development, Vote Peace, Vote the PDP…