Petroleum minister, Timipre Sylva forced to resign, submits presidential form

Timipre Sylva, the minister of state for Petroleum Resources, has been forced to resign from the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari, THE WITNESS reports.

Mr Sylva, a former governor of Bayelsa State, was said to have been forced to submit his resignation letter to Boss Mustapha, the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF) late Friday, two days after President Buhari told all his appointees seeking elective posts in the 2023 general elections to resign their current appointments.

A source at the All Progressives Congress (APC) national secretariat in Abuja told THE WITNESS that the minister on Friday, submitted his N100 million nomination and expression of interest forms.

Supporters of the minister had on Monday, purchased the forms for him. Accepting the forms, Sylva said that he would consult leaders of the oil-rich Niger Delta region including Chief Edwin Clark and other political allies before deciding if he would run for the office of the president.

Horatius Egua, the minister’s senior adviser on media and communications, did not respond to THE WITNESS inquiries as at press time.

Meanwhile, other APC presidential aspirants who beat the deadline to submit their nomination forms on Friday were vice-president Yemi Osinbajo; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; President African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwunmi Adesina; immediate-past minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and senate president Ahmad Lawan.

Also on the list were former minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; former minister of Niger Delta Development, Sen. Godswill Akpabio; former Imo State governor, Sen. Rochas Okorocha; and former Ogun State governor, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun.

Others were Pastor Tunde Bakare; Cross River State governor, Prof. Ben Ayade; his Ebonyi State counterpart, Gov. Dave Umahi; Chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Minister of State, Education, Hon. Emeka Nwajiuba; former Senate President, Sen. Ken Nnamani; Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; Jigawa State Governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar and former Zamfara State governor, Sen. Ahmed Yerima.

Senator Ajayi Borroffice; the only female aspirant, Mrs Uju Kennedy Ohnenye; Pastor Nicholas Felix Nwagbo; former House of Representative Speaker Dimeji Bankole; former Minister of Information, Chief Ikeobasi Mokelu; and Mr Tein Jack Rich also submitted theirs.