Timipre Sylva
Chief Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum, has maintained that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is the best candidate among the many who seek to fill the high office of president in the 2023 election.
He made these claims at Tinubu/Shettima Presidential campaign event in Yenagoa, citing Tinubu’s background as a politician, Senator, and Governor of Lagos state.
He argued that leading opponents to Tinubu’s presidency, such as Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), have little chance of winning in 2023.
According to him: “Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu is very presidential. He has a track record that nobody can beat. When they asked me why I am so sure that Tinubu is the best Presidential candidate, I also asked them who is contesting with him because I don’t know.
“They say Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, but I told them that those people are no match for our candidate because we must look at their track records. What did Obi do in Anambra state when he was a governor?”
A minister who compared Peter Obi to a lazy biblical servant who wasted his one talent claimed that good leadership is about more than just being cautious; it’s also about making things happen.
The former governor of Bayelsa state has said that Atiku Abubakar doesn’t have the experience to run the country efficiently.
Saying, “Let’s talk about Atiku; his only mission is to come and sell the NNPC,” he elaborated. He informed us he was returning to sell NNPC to his cronies, even though he had already sold the other companies.
He criticised the performance of Bayelsa state’s governor, Diri Douye, for the state’s lacklustre infrastructure and growth.
He said it was unfathomable that Bayelsa state, with its rich people and natural and mineral resources, was still the second poorest in Nigeria.
He added: “Bayelsa is an APC state; although they stole the victory from us, you can see that they don’t even know what to do with it. Look at the state of Bayelsa state now. According to National Statistics, this state is the second poorest state in the whole of Nigeria.
“You can see why it is so. We had severe flooding in Bayelsa that affected every home and every family in the state. Can an umbrella protect you from the flood?
“The state government had been warned for a long time that the flood was coming but had no preparation for it.
“You can also see when you walk on the streets of Bayelsa, you can see that they were not even prepared, but today I am not here to talk about Bayelsa state because that battle is coming later, and we know that that battle has already been won today.”
Governor Diri will be forced to flee to South Africa after the next governorship election, according to Yekini Nabena, a former APC deputy national publicity secretary.
Hon. Yekini Nabena, also the Chairman of the APC’s campaign publicity committee, spoke with reporters about the rally’s significance, explaining that they wanted to show the Diri-led government in Bayelsa that the state belongs to the APC.
“Governor Diri was quoted that a kilometre road in Bayelsa state is more expensive than three bridges in Rivers state. How can the terrain of Rivers and Bayelsa be different?
“These are sister states; there is no difference. How can you tell us that there is nothing to show after collecting that amount – a hundred and something billion naira from the 13 per cent derivation?
“We are all here; the state is in darkness; physically, we are here; it is not on paper. We have seen everywhere is dirty. This is to show that the governor, governor Diri, is clueless.
“He doesn’t even know – instead of him to improve the infrastructure and development in the state, he is busy marrying more wives and exposing his girlfriend in South Africa. So we are here for operation takeover.
“Our state cannot continue to suffer in this present state. We must rescue the state – the second poorest state after Sokoto. How can that be? Our location is number three or four, so where is the money going?
“And our population is the smallest in the country. So the man is wicked, and he is just marrying wives. So today, we are here for operation takeover come 2023 election.
“We will deliver our presidential candidate and all the National Assembly candidates, that one will tell him that it is time to run to South Africa. We are going to chase him out from the state,” Nabena opined.
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