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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has won the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in Bayelsa State.
Sylva, who is also a former governor of the state, polled 52,061 votes, to defeat tfiver other contestants.
The APC had adopted the direct mode of primary and held the exercise in the 105 wards and eight local government areas of the state.
A former militant leader, Joshua Macaiver came second with 2,078 votes while a former governor-elect on the platform of the APC, David Lyon came third with 1,584 votes.
Also, Prof. Ongoebi Etebu scored 1,277 votes to place fourth; Isikima Johnson pollen 584 votes and Festus Daumiebi polled 557 votes.
The chairman of the APC primary election committee for Bayelsa State, Major General Ahmed Jibrin (retd.), declared the former governor as the winner of the exercise at the party’s secretariat in Yenagoa,on Saturday
“With this result, Timipre Marlin Sylva, having scored the highest number of votes cast is hereby declared as the winner.
“By the power conferred on me by the APC National Working Committee, I declare Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva as the winner of this election,” Jibrin said.
After declaring the result, the committee also conducted an affirmation exercise, with five ad-hoc delegates from each of the 105 wards from the state affirming the outcome of the process.
Sylva resigned as minister in March in order to contest the Bayelsa APC governorship primary.
He ruled the state between 2007 and 2012 on the platform of the PDP, but the party denied him a second-term ticket.