There were claims, on Thursday, that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre, had resigned his position as minister to pursue his ambition as governor of Bayelsa State, but senior officials of his ministry could not confirm this.

Although they admitted that it the rule of the All Progressives Congress required the minister to have resigned in about 30 days before the April 14, 2023 governorship primary, the officials refused to confirm if Sylva had resigned.

“I have not seen his resignation letter and cannot confirm to you if he has resigned. But you know the rule of the party is that one must have resigned for at least 30 days before the primaries.

“So if he has sent his resignation letter to the President, I cannot confirm, but the fact remains that he is for the office of the governor of Bayelsa State,” an impeccable source at the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, who requested not to be named due to lack of authorisation, stated.

Sylva had served as Governor of Bayelsa in the past, for one full term between 2008 and 2012. At the time, he was a member of the People’s Democratic Party.

The PDP, which is now an opposition party, was at the time of Sylva’s reign as governor, the party running the Federal Government.

It was recently reported that some APC members in Bayelsa State had called on the national leadership of the party to disqualify Sylva from contesting the governorship primaries of the party over his refusal to resign his position as a minister.

The report stated that party members from 43 Wards in Ekeremor, Ogbia, Sagbama, Kolokuma/Opokuma and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas of the state, in a petition to the party national leadership, pointed out that as at the time the minister was screened, he had not resigned. (The PUNCH, but headline tweaked)