Ex-governor Timipre Sylva Resigns from APC

Former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing the ruling party of abandoning the ideals on which it was founded.

Sylva announced his resignation in a letter dated Monday and addressed to the APC chairman in Ward 4, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

He said the decision followed consultations with his family, associates, colleagues and supporters.

“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 said.

Sylva, a founding member of the APC, said he was saddened by what he described as the erosion of the principles that members of the party once worked and sacrificed to establish.

“As a founding member of the APC, and one who joined other well-meaning Nigerians in building the Party with sweat and money, it is deeply saddening to witness how the ideals we espoused have been so thoroughly and unrecognisably thwarted,” he said.

The former governor also criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu, accusing it of disappointing many Nigerians and failing to provide a credible path for reform.

Sylva said he could no longer remain in a party where its leaders appeared to operate on the belief that “all is fair in politics”.

He argued that politics, like every other aspect of life, should be guided by basic decency and morality.

“The present Government, formed under the banner of the APC we once loved, has disappointed the vast majority of Nigerians,” he said.

“I can see neither a credible attempt nor any possibility of a revamp.”

Describing the APC as a “floundering ship”, Sylva said he had decided to leave what he believed was a party whose fate had been sealed by its “irredeemable load of iniquities”.

He expressed confidence that Nigerians would use the next general election to vote for what he described as the interest of Nigeria and free the country from the current “stranglehold”.

Sylva also sent a copy of his resignation letter to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing the anti-graft agency of acting more like an organ of the APC than an independent state institution.

The former governor acknowledged that his decision could expose him and his associates to what he described as a “redoubled witch-hunt”, but said he was prepared to take the risk.

Sylva’s resignation comes amid legal and political controversies surrounding him. In November 2025, the EFCC declared him wanted over an alleged case involving conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14.85 million.

He was also listed as a defendant in a 13-count charge filed by the Federal Government in connection with an alleged plot to overthrow the Tinubu administration.

The allegations remain subject to legal proceedings.