BY VICOTR BUORO – The immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva has won the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial primaries in Bayelsa State, beating the 2019 governor-elect, Chief David Pereworimini Lyon, and four others on Friday in Yenagoa, the state capital.
Chief Sylva, also a former Governor of Bayelsa State won by a landslide the party governorship primary polls conducted in all 105 wards in the state through the direct primary mode.
Chairman of the APC Primary Election Committee and Returning Officer, Major General A. T. Jibrin (rtd), who announced the results at the State APC Secretariat on Saturday, said Sylva polled a total of 52,061 votes to emerge the winner.
Coming a distant second was an ex-agitator, Chief Joshua Maciver who polled 2,078 votes, while former Governor-elect, Chief David Lyon, came third with 1,582 votes. Lyon was conspicuously absent when the results were announced and did not have an agent to represent him.
In fourth place was Professor Ongoebi Etebu Maureen who got 1271; followed by Ogomade Isikima Johnson with 584 votes and Mr Festus Daumiebi, who staged a walk-out while the results were being declared, got 557 votes.
general Jibrin said of the 142,031 registered party members, 58,171 persons were accredited and voted, adding that the difficult terrain of the State caused the delay in the collation and announcement of results.
“Chief Timipre Sylva, having scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared as the winner”, the retired Army General said
