Why I’m vying to be Bayelsa governor again – Timipre Sylva

Former minister of state for petroleum, Timipre Silva, has revealed why he decided to throw his hat in the ring again for the Bayelsa state gubernatorial contest.

Sylva governed the wealthy small state between 2008 and 2012.

Sylva, who had earlier said he was not interested in being a governor again, disclosed that he changed his mind due to the disturbing lack of development in the oil rich southern state.

Sylva made the disclosure during an interview with the SUN, adding that the state has retrogressed and the backwardness is palpable.

He said “At this stage of my life, I must consider my life as belonging to the people of Bayelsa State. Even against my wish, if it is the yearning of the people, then I would answer their call.

“You see all the problems of the state, problems of development, the bungling that is going on in the name of governing , then there is a need for a steady hand, there is a need for an experienced hand to take over Bayelsa and put this state on the path of development. That is where we are. A lot of people came to me and I said no I couldn’t be that selfish not to accept. If I don’t contest, there are other ways I can keep myself busy, there are other roles for me, not only in Bayelsa, but at the Federal Government, even at the community level.

“But unfortunately, I feel that the government of the day is not doing well. There is no clear path way that I can see to progress and develop. Where are they taking us to, I can’t see. Yes, there are patches of things being done here and there but that really is not the solution. We must see a clear pathway. Everything you are doing must be geared towards a journey to development. Where is the current administration in Bayelsa taking us to”

He noted that the government of the day mouths prosperity at every given opportunity but there is nothing that shows that the state is prosperous.

They talk about prosperity but can you believe this government is about prosperity. There is nothing prosperous about the situation in Bayelsa. Sometimes you wonder if they really understand the meaning of the word prosperity. You want to create jobs, then you give voodoo jobs, by voodoo jobs I mean appointments, is that a sustainable way to create employment. Giving appointments to people and keeping them on salaries is not a sustainable way to create employment. I hear there is a slang in Bayelsa ‘Madam must go market salaries. That is not where Bayelsa should be. We want to bring things together to build an economy that would attract people all over the world to come and invest here.

Investments that would create jobs and opportunities for Bayelsans is what we need. So, everything we are going to do is going to tend and lead to the direction of economic sustainable prosperity. But when you have a government that has no understanding of how things are in the world and they think about building short roads here and there, people are suffering. Look at Yenagoa, does it look like a state capital?” he said.