By Charles Adingupu
After days of permutations at the All Progressives Congress, APC Bayelsa State primary election, former Governor and ex Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva has emerged winner of the election.
The APC Primary Election Committee Chairman who also doubles as the Return Officer, Maj. General.A.T Jubril said Sylva pulled 52,061 votes to beat his close rival, Joshua Maclver with 2,078 votes and four other opponents in the race.
The Bayelsa State former Governor-Elect, David Lyon came distant third with a total votes of 1,582 and followed by the first Nigerian female Mechanical Engineering Professor and Vice Chancellor of the Maritime University, Okerekoko in Delta state, Professor Maureen Etebu with 1,271 votes.
Johnson Isikima got 584 votes and Festus Daumiebi polled the least number of votes of 557.
Jubril who described the election as free and fair, said that out of the 142,031 registered party members, only 58,171 were accredited and voted in the exercise.
With this victory, the APC candidate, Chief Sylva will do battle with the incumbent Governor of the State, Duoye Diri in the November 2023 Governorship election.
Sylva in his post victory speech, called on his opponents to close rank in other to ensure victory for the party at the November Governorship election.
While enjoining his party members to put aside their differences, Sylva said the development of the state should be uppermost in their minds at this moment.
The former Governor who promised to defeat the Governor Diri at the near governorship election, recalled that the incumbent governor never won the election but assumed the post through the Supreme Court verdict.
He assured APC stalwarts and supporters to send Governor Diri packing from the government house in November 2023.
