Why Pres. BUHARI Would Have Preferred TIMIPRE SYLV To Succeed Him

 •The Story Of BUHARI's Godson Revealed!

Do you know that Pres. Buhari and Timipre Sylva enjoy a very, very good relationship? We can tell you for free that the President likes Sylva. That perhaps is why he got the appointment as Oil Minister which makes him work with the President.

Recall that the online media space was thrown into confusion recently when foremost writer, author and critic, Farooq Kperogi, threw open the veil that got Nigerians guessing on who may have been darkhorse that was claimed by Mr President, would be eliminated if his name was announced.

Kperogi, in his usual style, did not hold anything back in his opinion piece titled “Sylva: Buhari’s choice for president in 2023".

The explosive and expository material redirected the thoughts of pundits and gave a true picture of how the system works. In a brief article released January 2022, Farook Kperogi wrote:

“After realizing that Jonathan can’t legally run for another presidential election, Buhari told the Aso Rock cabal that he wants former Bayelsa State governor and current minister of state for petroleum Timipre Sylva to succeed him. That’s still his preference”

The steady and systemic political growth of Timipre Sylva, no doubt points to the premise that suggests that President Buhari, has highly revered respect and interest in the Bayelsa former governor. The man (Timipre), who has faced immeasurable media and political persecution from his own people has now become the toast of the Presidency. Former Governor Timipre sits on a highly coveted office of the minister for petroleum(state) and is very close to President Mohammadu Buhari’ who is the substantive petroleum minister.

Just as the brilliant writer had said, not many is aware of the closeness between Timipre Sylva and President Buhari, but let’s give you a clue on why the President prefers Sylva to succeed him.

Before Timipre became the chairman of Buhari’s inauguration committee in 2015, he was one of the very few die-hard loyalists of President Buhari and he worked so hard to ensure that he secured the required 25% votes in all of the south-south.

Timipre was in the eye of the storm during President Jonathan’s administration, but he refused to give in to intimidation, as he was in the opposition party at the time. He saw the light in Buhari and followed religiously. When he was picked to serve as the chairman of Buhari’s inauguration committee, and ultimately became the state minister for petroleum.

Timipre Sylva was once in the PDP before he left for the APC when the kitchen became too hot for him to survive.

As a candidate of the People’s Democratic Party Sylva won the 2007 Bayelsa State gubernatorial election and succeeded Goodluck Jonathan who went on to the position of Vice President. During his inauguration he said that Bayelsa was “the least developed industrially and commercially” of all 36 states”, the statement was said to have infuriated the powers that be in the state and his travails began.

Sylva’s opponent in the 2007 election, Ebitimi Amgbare of the Action Congress, legally challenged his victory. Although the Bayelsa State Election Petitions Tribunal upheld Sylva’s election, Amgbare took the matter to the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt which overturned the Tribunal’s decision and nullified Sylva’s election on April 15, 2008. The Appeal Court’s five justices were unanimous in their decision and ordered that Speaker Werinipre Seibarugo be sworn in to replace Sylva as acting Governor, with a new election to be held within three months.

A new election was held on May 24, 2008, and Sylva, again running as the PDP candidate, was overwhelmingly elected with 588,204 out of about 598,000 votes. He has sworn in again on May 27, saying on this occasion that he would form a broadly inclusive unity government. On January 27, 2012, his tenure was terminated by the Supreme Court with an acting governor appointed to oversee the state until the election of February 2012. Sylva was appointed by President Buhari on Wednesday, August 21, 2019, as the Nigerian Cabinet Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, an office he has occupied to date.

Aside from his loyalty to the President, it is said that Timipre works closely with those close to Buhari. They work with him as personal aide’s special secretaries and close associates.

It has also been said that President Buhari has always expressed his preference for a successor that is from the minority region from the south. As much as he has feigned non-interest in whoever emerges in 2023, Buhari wants a candidate that has worked with him and understands his style of administration, and of course, that can be monitored against possible external influence with a contrary interest.

Sylva graduated from the University of Port Harcourt with distinction in English (Linguistics) in 1986. At the time, he was the best graduating student from his department and departmental valedictorian. He was subsequently awarded a Doctor in International Relations (Honoris causa) by the UBIS University in 2011. Sylva was awarded his second doctorate (Honoris Causa) in Public Administration on the 2nd of December 2020 by AiPA (African Institute of Public Administration, Leading Edge Foundation and LBBS.

His political career started in 1992 when he won a seat in the House of Assembly election representing the Brass constituency in old Rivers State. At the time, he was the youngest of all the members in the house of the Assembly. His political career continued when he was appointed as the Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Petroleum in 2004 under the auspices of Dr Edmund Dakouru. He continued in that position until he resigned to join the PDP gubernatorial primaries in 2006 in Bayelsa State, in which he placed, second behind Dr Goodluck Jonathan. After the PDP presidential primaries election and Dr Jonathan was appointed as a running mate to HE Umaru Musa Yar’adua of blessed memory, the gubernatorial candidacy for PDP became vacant, and conventional wisdom took the better of the political actors and Sylva was elevated to occupy the position of PDP gubernatorial candidate.