From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The former Petroleum Minister, State, Chief Timipre Sylva, has lambasted the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, for ordering his prosecution over the death of one George Sibo in the last governorship election.
Sylva said the directive, which Diri gave to his Attorney-General, had shown the governor’s desperation to deploy diversionary tactics and distractions against his case at the Appeal Court.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate in Bayelsa recalled that Diri had abandoned a phantom EFCC case he conjured to distract him and had devised another style in his failed attempt to stop him and the APC from concentrating on their case.
Sylva declared that Diri’s plot was dead on arrival as he knew nothing about the death of Sibo, whom he described as an illustrious and promising youth of the state.
The former governor of the state in a statement signed by his Special Assistant, Media, Julius Bokoru, asked members of the public to discountenance the new plot by the governor insisting that nothing would stop him from reclaiming his stolen mandate.
“Chief Sylva is curious at what Diri’s apparent desperation can push him to. This recent effort is a symptom of fear, shortly after Diri tried to conjure some phantom EFCC case against Sylva he devised a new method of distraction which, of course, is dead on arrival.
“Sylva knows nothing of the murder of George Sibo, an illustrious and promising youth of the state, it is important to note that by the time the young man died, Sylva was well out of the area.
“It is clear that this is fear, anxiety, and everything to distract Chief Sylva after his attempt to bring up EFCC issues failed in the wake of a long and relentless string of propaganda against Chief Sylva with taxpayers’ monies.
Any attempt to drag Chief Sylva into this issue is either inspired by fear and anxiety or by a thoroughly jaundiced mindset.
“This response, which at this point is forced from Chief Sylva, is painful for two reasons: how can a sitting governor assume the role of a forensic and criminal investigator, and convict Chief Sylva even before investigations commenced? How much more can a sitting governor debase the office, making such wild, frantic, and baseless allegations?
In the course of the last elections, we saw strange things from Gov Douye Diri who seemed constantly edgy and ready to emotionally erupt, but this latest unwarranted combustion is a new low.
“Chief Sylva, concerned Bayelsans, and the APC are trying everything within the law to get a stolen mandate back.
“Until justice is done, Diri’s Governorship remains illegitimate in the minds of every sincere Bayelsa and every sincere person of goodwill”.