Sylva dumps APC, accuses Tinubu government of failure

Former Bayelsa State governor and ex-Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress, APC, citing the alleged erosion of the party’s founding ideals.

Sylva announced his resignation in a letter addressed to the APC chairman in Ward 4, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on Monday.

“Having consulted widely with my family, associates, colleagues and sympathisers, I wish to formally tender my resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC), with immediate effect,” he said.

Sylva, a founding member of the APC, said he was saddened by what he described as the party’s departure from the principles on which it was established.

“As a founding member of the APC, and one who joined other well-meaning Nigerians in building the Party with sweat and money, it is deeply saddening to witness how the ideals we espoused have been so thoroughly and unrecognisably thwarted.”

The former governor said he could no longer remain in a party whose leaders believe that “all is fair in politics”.

“All cannot be fair in any endeavour of life. The demands of basic decency and morality forbid it. Unfortunately, this mentality appears to underpin virtually every action, and even inaction, of this administration,” he said.

Sylva added, “The present Government, formed under the banner of the APC we once loved, has disappointed the vast majority of Nigerians. And I can see neither a credible attempt nor any possibility of a revamp.”

He said he therefore had no choice but “to jettison a floundering ship whose fate appears to have been sealed by its irredeemable load of iniquities”.

Sylva’s resignation comes after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared him wanted in November 2025 over an alleged case involving conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14.86m. He was also listed among defendants in a 13-count charge filed by the Federal Government over an alleged plot to topple President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The former governor said he remained confident that Nigerians would use the 2027 general election to change the country’s political direction.

He disclosed that he had sent a copy of his resignation letter to the EFCC, accusing the agency of acting “more as an organ of the APC than as an institution of State”.

“I am fully aware that this action of mine may invite a redoubled witch-hunt against me and my associates, but that is a risk I am willing to take,” he added.