Former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has commended the steps so far taken by President Tinubu, especially the removal of fuel subsidy,
Speaking to State House Correspondents after a closed-door meeting with the President, Sylva said what the President has so far done shows how well he means for Nigeria.
“I believe that we are on the verge of an economic turnaround in this country. We need a President who understands the economy and I believe that we have one now. That’s really part of what we discussed,” he said.
Sylva, who is also a former Governor of Bayelsa State and currently the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming Governorship election in the State, said he used his opportunity to solicit the support of President Bola Tinubu, in his quest to return as Governor of Bayelsa State.
He served only one term but did not secure a re-election ticket on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for another term in 2011.
Sylva used the occasion to unfold his six-point agenda as he spoke to State House correspondents after his session with the President.
Declaring his readiness to re-contest, Sylva, who is now running for re-election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said;
“We are set to take over Bayelsa, I came to inform Mr. President and take advice from him. I have been a Governor, and I’ve been part of the politics of Bayelsa from its inception. So I know Bayelsa and Bayelsa knows me.
“So we are fully aground. APC is the party on the ground in Bayelsa State. And I can assure you that we can do it again and we will do it again.”
Agenda
On his six-point agenda, Sylva explained: “First point of the agenda is human capital development including education, which is very important. We need to really develop the capacity of our people.
“The second point of the agenda is infrastructure. We really need it in Bayelsa State. The third point of the agenda is to develop an economy for Bayelsa. And for Bayelsa, we believe that the economy that can easily be developed is a gas economy. Because we are sitting on the highest deposit of gas in Nigeria.
“Fourth point in the agenda is agriculture and in agriculture, we are not going to also be trying everything, we’re going to concentrate on rice production. As you know, rice goes well in the swamps and Bayelsa has a lot of swamps as you know.”
He said; “We are definitely going to become the biggest rice producer in Nigeria because we have that comparative advantage. And then of course, in agriculture, we’re also looking at fishery.
“The fifth point of the agenda will be to stabilize power because you know that if you want to grow an economy you need to stabilize power. We must stabilize power in Bayelsa working with the federal government and we have the gas to fire the power sector.
“Then, the sixth point of the agenda is to ensure that there is security. So is this six-point agenda. We’re going to hit the ground running and I can assure you that linking up with the great things that are going to be achieved from the federal side and with what you can see, I believe that the glory days of Bayelsa are just around the corner, just like the glory days of Nigeria, also around the corner.”
Mercy Chukwudiebere
