By BANNERNEWS Reporter, Yenagoa
Former Bayelsa State Governor and immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing the ruling party of abandoning the ideals upon which it was founded.
Sylva, a founding member of the APC with a strong political base in Bayelsa State, said he could no longer remain in a party whose leaders had allegedly embraced the philosophy that “all is fair in politics.”
In a resignation letter dated August 31, 2026, addressed to the APC Ward 4 Chairman in Brass Local Government Area, his home ward, Sylva said the decision followed extensive consultations with his family, associates, colleagues and sympathisers.
He also copied the APC National Chairman, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Bayelsa State Chairman of the party.
Sylva said it was “deeply saddening” to witness what he described as the “thorough and unrecognisable” abandonment of the principles that attracted him and other Nigerians to the APC.
“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 stated.
He added that he could not “in all good conscience” continue to belong to a party whose leaders allegedly believe that “all is fair in politics”, stressing that “the demands of basic decency and morality forbid it.”
The former governor also criticised the APC-led Federal Government, saying it had disappointed the majority of Nigerians and expressing doubts about the possibility of reversing what he described as its failures.
“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.
Sylva said he was therefore left with no option but to leave what he described as a “floundering ship”, expressing confidence that Nigerians would use the next general election to change the political direction of the country.
He also accused the EFCC of increasingly conducting itself like an organ of the ruling APC rather than an independent institution of state.
“I am deliberately putting the EFCC in copy of this letter because, of late, it has conducted itself more as an organ of the APC than as an institution of State,” Sylva said.
He acknowledged that his resignation could expose him and his associates to increased scrutiny or investigation, but said he was prepared to face the consequences.
“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 stated.
Sylva served as governor of Bayelsa State from 2007 to 2012 before his appointment as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.
His resignation comes amid a wave of defections by some of his loyalists from the APC to opposition parties in Bayelsa ahead of the 2027 general elections.
His 2023 governorship running mate, Joshua MacIver, had earlier defected from the APC, while several other associates and supporters of the former governor have also left the party.
Sylva has also been embroiled in a political and legal confrontation with the Federal Government, including allegations of financing an alleged plot against President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which he has denied. The EFCC has also continued investigations involving his assets and associates.
