Hon Sunday Frank-Oputu, a member of the Hon. Ebierien Fala Itubor-led faction, said Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, acquired the secretariat while he was governor of the state. He said the ill-gotten funds is to blame for the series of misfortune bedeviling the party in the state.
He said this while speaking with DAILY POST on the lingering crisis in the party. He stated the opening of the new secretariat is the best thing that has happened to the majority of members of the party in the state.
Frank-Oputu, a chieftain of the party from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, claimed that the status of the old party secretariat and the circumstances surrounding its acquisition has led to many political misfortunes for the party.
“One, let me tell you, do you know that in 2015, we narrowly missed the governorship when Sylva has already had over 80,000 votes in Southern Ijaw? INEC cancelled it, we narrowly escaped it.
“In 2009, we even won and it was declared. It was a day to swearing-in that the victory of APC was overturned,” he said.
“All these are bad things showing that where the secretariat is situated is a bad place because it is a proceed of corruption. APC cannot stand on corrupt ground to do anything and succeed because of that.”
Frank-Oputu also said the new secretariat is the best thing that has happened to the APC in Bayelsa in a long time. He called on the current government to take over the Sylva faction’s secretariat, saying it belongs to the state.
“As far as I’m concerned, it is the best thing that has happened to Bayelsa State because the former secretariat, which is at the Mbiama-Yenagoa Road, opposite IBTC bank, is a proceed of corruption under Sylva’s government.
“When Sylva was governor, he asked the state capital development authority to go and buy that property with our state’s money. The evidences are there, the former governor, Seriake Dickson, even went to court, the matter is still in court.
“The money was paid from Bayelsa State Government account and you and I know party secretariat is not, and has never been, on government property before. That is government property that belongs to every Bayelsan,” Frank-Oputu said.
“Bayelsa State Government property belongs to everybody, both APC members, PDP members, and the rest. Therefore, a party cannot claim ownership, it is wrong.
“I am using this same medium to call the Governor of Bayelsa state to immediately prepare to take over that property because that property rightly belongs to Bayelsa State Government.
“It’s a proceed of corruption, APC as a party that does not believe in corruption and believe in non-partisan issues that stands for truth and justice, we say that secretariat is a wrong place for Bayelsa to keep her APC secretariat.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is a man who has a clean slate when it comes to anti-corruption, so for us as a people and believers of Buhari’s system of governance, that secretariat is the least place anybody should expect us to stay.
“We have a better secretariat at this side. This we are telling Bayelsans and the whole world that the Timipre Sylva’s leadership in Bayelsa has come to an end and we are doing away with his corrupt proceeds and his corrupt style of governance. Since the day he became Minister of Petroleum, how many corrupt cases have people levelled against him? Can he give account of them?
“Let anybody who can give account of them come out because it’s uncountable. Such a person is not supposed to be the leader of our party in Bayelsa State as far as I’m concerned.
“Chief Timipre Sylva’s leadership has come to an end in APC, we have a better secretariat we don’t want to use the secretariat that is a proceed of corruption, so the Bayelsa State Government is hereby called to come and take over their property”.
