Sylva’s Tenure Extension Shocks Bayelsans

Shock, tensions, anxiety, and annoyance were the expressions  of those who felt that the judgement of an Abuja High Court which extended  the tenure of Chief Timipre Sylva as governor of Bayelsa State was wrong.

However, it was all joy for supporters  of government  when the news broke out on Wednesday, even as  there was calm in  Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, and its surrounding communities.

The court decision did not  attract jubilation  by the people on the streets of the state capital, Yenagoa, but security was stepped up in the state.

Eventhough there was no open jubilation in the streets, The Tide reliably gathered  that  close aides and supporters of  Governor Sylva were celebrating the court verdict on tenure elongation .In  a  reaction ,Governor Timipre Sylva  ,who spoke through his Chief  Press Secretary, Doifie Ola, said his victory  at the court affirmed that  his tenure  expires in 2012 and was a victory for the state, democracy  and the Rule of Law.

He said: “The extension will give the administration  more time to deepen development and  democracy  in the state.”

In  a statement  in Yenagoa,  the state Commissioner for Information ,Strategy and Orientation, Nathan Egba, said the ruling was a victory for the Rule of Law and democratic culture.

“Chief Sylva did not go to court out of a desire to perpetuate his stay in office, but to ensure that he gets justice ,in view of the annulment of the 2007 election and his subsequent exit from office until 2008,”Egba noted.

“Government however, assures the  people  of Bayelsa State that the pace of development will continue that our people will see the justification in voting for Chief Timipre Sylva as their Governor,” he said.

In an interview, Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state, Ene Ketebu, said  Sylva’s victory was a deserved one ,noting that it would enable him to consolidate on the development of the state.

The National Youth Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) ,Miriki Ebikibina noted that the court ruling on Sylva’s tenure extension was a great challenge  and poser to evaluate the intellectual content and readiness of Bayelsans ,stakeholders and political parties and the gubernatorial candidates in the  April polls.