55-year-old Mr Timipre Sylva, has been announced as the new Minister of State for Petroleum by President Muhammadu Buhari, Igbere TV reports.
Born on July 7, 1964, Mr Sylva takes over from the immediate past minister, Dr Ibe Kachikwu who lost his re-nomination bid last month.
Sylva, who hails from Okpoama-Brass in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, is a former governor of the state. He has also served as a member of the state assembly in the 90’s.
As a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sylva won the Bayelsa gubernatorial election on May 29, 2007 and succeeded Dr Goodluck Jonathan who went on to the position of Nigeria’s vice president.
Sylva’s opponent in the 2007 election, Ebitimi Amgbare of the Action Congress (AC), 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 was sworn in again on May 27, 2008. 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.
In 2013, Sylva dumped the PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC), following a disagreement with his boss and former president, Goodluck Jonathan.
He had accused Goodluck Jonathan of orchestrating attacks against him and his government when they were in power.
Mr Sylva said the former president’s dislike for his emergence as governor of Bayelsa State led to the annulment of his election in 2008.
In 2013, Sylva was charged for money laundering and corrupt practices by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He forfeited 48 properties to the anti-graft agency during trial.
But in a dramatic twist of event, the EFCC returned the 48 properties to the former governor on 23, Jan., 2013, few months after joining the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Mr Sylva is happily married with three children — Timipre Sylva, Pagabio Sylva, and Taria Sylva.
Igbere TV had reported that President Buhari, on Wednesday, formally assigned portfolios to all 43 ministerial-designates, three months after his inauguration for a second term.
He had last month, sent the list of ministers to the Nigerian Senate for screening and confirmation, in an exercise that lasted five days.
