Briga News Nigeria
EXCELLENT PROFILE OF BAYELSA APC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE.
His Excellency, High Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva CON (born 7 July 1964) is a Nigerian politician who served as the minister of state for Petroleum Resources of Nigeria from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as governor of Bayelsa State from 2007 to 2012.
EARLIER LIFE AND BACKGROUND:
Chief Sylva was born in Brass, Bayelsa (formerly Rivers State, of which Bayelsa State was split off from in 1996), He got part of his education in Bayelsa and in Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria. He was a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly in the 1990s.
EDUCATION:
His Excellency Timipre Sylva graduated from the University of Port Harcourt with first class 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.
Timipre 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.
POLITICAL CAREER:
Dr Sylva’s political career started in 1992 when he won a seat in the House of Assembly Election representing Brass constituency in old Rivers State. At the time, he was the youngest of all the members in the house of Assembly.
His political career continued when he was appointed as the Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Petrolatum in 2004 under the auspices of Dr Edmund Daukoru.
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 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.
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.
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, 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.
In October 2022, a Nigerian national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) was conferred on him by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He is currently contesting to be the Governor of Bayelsa State under the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC. The election is slated to hold in November 11, 2023.
