The Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the election in Bayelsa State and immediate former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Trimipre Sylva has stated that his decision to contest for the position again is to save the state from bad governance.
Mr Sylva made this known while answering questions during a live media chat on radio stations in Yenagoa, on why he changed his mind to vie again for governorship after he declared some time ago that he would not contest for the office of governor.
The former Minister, however, explained that various calls by the people who insisted that he should come and rescue the state from its present distasteful state of affairs prompted his curiosity to come back.
However, he revealed further that he is the most experienced candidate with a rich public service background among all the contenders for the forthcoming November 11 governorship election in Bayelsa state.
“Yes, at that time it was a statement of intention. I didn’t want to run for governorship again. But I assumed that Bayelsa would have better governance.
“But unfortunately, I have to run again because of the state of affairs in Bayelsa today. A lot of calls from people for me to come and salvage the state, and I could not neglect those calls.
“You will all agree with me that Bayelsa is not in the best shape today, every Bayelsan will agree.
“And if I’m called upon to come and salvage my state, because of my commitment to my people, I must. Because I must sleep with myself at the end of the day. And that is why I have come even though I never intended to run again, to come back because of the state of affairs that we have in Bayelsa State.
“How can we have a state where things are moving backwards? Bayelsans will all agree with me that the availability of electricity during my time in government (as governor) was much better than it is today. Instead of it improving, it is deteriorating. Bayelsans will agree with me that even the state of the roads in the state capital is deteriorating instead of improving. Even the earnings of Bayelsans in the civil service are not moving forward.
“Then, why will I stand aside and look? I will not be able to stand aside and look, especially when my people are calling on me to come back and salvage the situation. And today, I have a unique experience. Not many politicians and people in the field of politics are as experienced as I am; experienced in the oil industry, experienced as a governor, experienced as chairman of various boards. I was the last chairman of NNPC. So, I have a vast experience that I can bring to bear in Bayelsa State and if my people call on me to come and salvage the situation, then I must. That’s the reason I’m here today again,” he said.
However, the APC candidate noted that he had prepared a six-point agenda which he would implement to rescue Bayelsa from underdevelopment and retrogression.
“My six points are very clear and clearer than anybody’s agenda. The six points have the acronym, HIGAPS- Human Capital Development, Infrastructure; Gas Economy, Agriculture, Power and Security- so that it will be easy for the people to remember,” Sylva said.
He reassured that his developmental blueprint was not cast in stone, noting that it would serve as a roadmap for the sustainable development of Bayelsa, promising that his administration would always consult the people and also organise a summit to seek their input on the governance of the state if he is voted in.
He however urged the people of the state to vote for him and the APC, claiming that he was the most experienced among all the contestants for the office of governor.
