Governor Diri Accuses Sylva Of Undermining Integrity Of Nigeria’s Judiciary

Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has accused former governor and minister of state for petroleum resources Timipre Sylva of undermining the judiciary’s integrity.
In a terse but “indecorous statement,” the former minister claimed that Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, travels to Abuja regularly to “induce judiciary characters in light of the ongoing court (of Appeal) case.”
However, in a statement issued by Daniel Alabara, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Diri stated that Sylva has been acting like an entitled child deprived of an imaginary birthright since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him winner of that election, a declaration confirmed by the state election petition tribunal.

Detailed statement…
We have read the recklessly worded statement of former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, in which he cast doubt on the Nigerian judiciary.

In a terse but indecorous statement, Sylva claimed that Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, routinely travels to Abuja to “induce judiciary characters in light of the ongoing court (of Appeal) case.”

Sylva was the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the state’s governorship election on November 11, 2023, competing against Governor Diri.

Unfortunately, Sylva has been acting like an entitled child deprived of an imaginary birthright since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Governor Diri the winner of that election, which was confirmed by the state election petition tribunal.

Instead of accepting defeat in an election acknowledged by his party’s national leadership as fair and credible, which the APC lost, Sylva claims a non-existent stolen mandate. Aside from disrespecting his party in vain pursuit, he has continued to disrespect the judiciary.

Governor Diri chose not to ignore Sylva’s ill-advised attack on an important branch of government because he held high regard for the judiciary. Politics should be a decency-filled arena in which players show the utmost respect for the sacred institutions of the state rather than denigrate them after losing an election.

Sylva also pretended to be concerned about the governor’s domestic and international travel.

He is either hypocritical or demonstrates an obvious lack of understanding of governance for a man who led the state for five years.

When he was governor of Bayelsa, he spent little time there.

Under his watch, governance suffered as he indulged in endless parties and drinking binges inside Government House. While he partied, his appointees were kept waiting until midnight to sign memos.

Sylva paid no attention to attracting investment to the state, instead wasting its resources at various nightclubs in Yenagoa, Port Harcourt, Lagos, or Abuja nearly every weekend.

It is critical to remind the former governor that no serious occupant of such a high office sits in his domain to solicit private investors or investments. Such journeys are required and important if our country is to change its developmental narrative. They are not a jamboree because the painstaking engagements yield results over time.

Bayelsa State will reap the benefits of the Diri administration’s investment drive because the governor is sincere in laying a solid foundation for the state’s long-term economic growth and development.

Sylva’s desperation and reckless outbursts will not deter the Diri administration.

Daniel Alabrah
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Bayelsa State
Sunday, July 7, 2024.