Chief Edwin Clark, an elder statesman and South-South leader, in an open letter released on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, has listed the sins of a former minister of state for Petroleum Resources and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 11 Bayelsa governorship election, Mr. Timipre Sylva, which the former predicts will affect the latter's candidacy.

The elder statesman and leader described the APC governorship candidate, Mr. Sylva, as anti-Ijaw based on his past actions especially as minister of state petroleum during the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration and as a one-time governor of Bayelsa state, among other perceived ill acts.

The letter reads:

“As a Petroleum Minister of State in Muhammadu Buhari’s Government, you performed a series of atrocities against your own ethnic nationalities in order to remain in office and you are being compromised in various dealing such as:

“The original government provision in the PIB was to provide 10% for the Host Communities. I state hereunder the portion of the Bill which reads as follows; ‘A part of the original bill including; All upstream petroleum operators in onshore areas and in the offshore and shallow water areas will remit 10% of their net profit on a monthly basis to the PHC fund, while remittance relating to activities in deepwater areas will be for the Petroleum Producing Littoral States.’

“Tension has encased the Coastal population of Niger Delta following the National Assembly decision to sustain 3% equity stack for oil and gas producing communities in the PIB despite protest from stakeholders, while permitting 30% for exploration activities on frontier basis particularly in the North.

“It could be recalled that Sen. Seriake Dickson, former governor of Bayelsa State criticised you and your Pet Senator Eremienyon Degi for supporting the 3% award and Dickson said in his statement published in Punch of July 25, 2021;

“This was the position held by the Niger Delta Oil Producing Communities and other Nigerians who recognised our sufferings in the hands of the International Oil Companies (IOCs). This was our position until the Bill was passed.

“You, as Minister of State Petroleum, Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPCL and the IOCs officials visited the National Assembly where you agreed with the Senate on 3% instead of 10% or 5%.

“You are no doubt a flyer and a hero to the Federal Government at the time and our detractors particularly in the north.

“Even, the insulting and oppressive 3% you imposed on our people, you made no effort to implement it before you left office.

“The exclusion of the majority of the Niger Delta Oil Producing States particularly, the Ijaws, your people, some of whom were short-listed during the award of 57 Oil Marginal Field contract were excluded.

“The Bayelsa State government as published in the Guardian of Thursday July 15, 2021 protested to President Muhammadu Buhari on the revocation of the Atala Marginal Oil Field and its re-award to other non Niger Deltans.

“The Bayelsa State Government stated that the Atala Marginal Oil Field is the prized asset of Bayelsa State but you did not listen to the appeal.

“You then mentioned that some of your colleagues from the north have bought you a presidential form at the cost of ₦100 million. Thereafter, we celebrated and I offered you my fatherly blessings in your contest to be a Presidential Aspirant of the APC.

“We still feel that the goodwill which existed between me and you and His Royal Majesty, King Edmund Daukoru of Nembe Kingdom, your former boss, still exist when I single-handedly contributed to your becoming the successor of then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, when he became the running mate to late President Umaru Yar’adua in 2007.

“All that is now history. Unfortunately, you burnt the goodwill I have for you when you championed violence in the general elections on two occasions in Bayelsa State.

“Firstly, it was during the gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State between you and Senator Seriake Dickson, where both of you because of your personal ambition imposed violence on the innocent citizens of Bayelsa State.

“I remember criticizing both of you at a press conference in Abuja, and I reproduce hereunder the extract of that press conference as reported in the Vanguard newspaper of 14th January, 2016.

“I am terribly disappointed that you have not stopped this brutal and violent approach to election. The statement made by your running mate in Brass during campaign has gone viral in the media that ‘anyone who misbehaves will be thrown into the river to drown,’ “some people will die, it’s not the first time people die in elections.’ You have not renounced the statement rather; you are trying to defend him. Too bad. This categorically demonstrates that you are a security risk during general elections in the State.

“Finally, on this issue of violence, I observed during your tenure in office as Governor of Bayelsa State, you appointed a security committee under the leadership of one militant fellow, late Mr. Richard Kpodo, from Torufani, and the name of the security outfit was called Operation Famou Tangbe, meaning ‘kill and throw away’.

“It is common knowledge that this security outfit committed a lot of atrocities in Bayelsa State, including killings, raping, harassing political opponents, etc, until the Presidency intervened.

“You can therefore see the reasons why most of our Ijaw people in Bayelsa and other residents are against your candidature for fear of insecurity and victimization of political opponents and innocent citizens.

“It is quite clear that you can only contest for another period of four years and not three years and that is why you are not qualified because your first one year in office between 2007 and 2008 shall be taken into account i.e. you have already done five years as Governor of Bayelsa State.

“If you win an election for another four years, it will be nine years which the 1999 amended Constitution forbid.”

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