I have no problem with Sylva, says Lokpobiri

A frontline governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has explained that he had no personal problem with a former Governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva.

Lokpobiri, the only governorship aspirant to have so far picked the APC nomination and expression of interest forms for the party’s primaries, said he would never have problems with the former governor ahead of the internal poll.

Speaking at the weekend after collecting his forms, Lokpobiri, the immediate past Minister of State for Agriculture, said the only way to avoid disagreements was for the party to conduct a credible and transparent primary election.

He said having weighed options for primary elections in the party, many stakeholders in APC believed that indirect method was better to avoid unnecessary acrimonies.

He noted that anybody rooting for a direct primary was expressing his personal opinion, adding that majority of the party leaders were in agreement with him and his team that indirect primary poll was the best for the party.

Lokpobiri insisted that for the APC to win the forthcoming poll, the party must present a credible candidate, who is free from many issues.

He said the party a few years ago lost an election and should not toy with the November 16 poll by selecting a wrong candidate.

Read Also; We’ll not allow primaries divide APC in Bayelsa, says Lokpobiri

He said: “I have no problem with Timipre Sylva. Sylva is Bayelsa man and Bayelsa leader just like we have other leaders here. I have no problem with him at all and I will never have a problem with him.

“The only way to avoid a disagreement that will arise from a primary is to conduct a credible and transparent primary. That is why in the wisdom of majority of the party, we are saying that indirect primary is the way to go. By the time, all the delegates who are party leaders as at today gather in a designated place, the winner will clearly emerge and the losers will know that they were given a fair chance to contest.

“That is what we are supporting. Anybody clamouring for direct primary, it is the person’s opinion. I know that majority of APC supporters prefer indirect primary. In the last election in Bayelsa, we got over 40 per cent, this time we will win. Majority of voters are not party men.

“What determines the failures and success of any party in an election is the quality of the candidate. If you have the highest quality of candidate, you have won the election by 50 per cent, but if you bring a candidate with a lot of questionable issues then, you fail in the election.

“We have had the experience some years ago and we don’t what a repeat. We want a situation where APC will be able to present the best person that can help the party to win. I don’t have any personal problem with Sylva and I know he doesn’t have any problem with me. Few days ago, we were together and we had handshakes. But in politics particularly in the social media, you read a lot of stories. I believe that majority of the people in Bayelsa will support my candidature if I eventually emerge”.

Lokpobiri insisted that there was nobody in Bayelsa APC aspiring for the APC ticket that had his kind of experience in both executive and legislative arms of the government.

He said his track records as the first Speaker of the state House of Assembly, two-time senator and a minster, he was prepared for the APC flag and the governorship of Bayelsa.
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