A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC), led by its embattled chairman, Mr Tiwei Orunimighe has suspended the leader of the party and its former governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva over alleged plot to destabilise the party in the state.
The Orunimighe’s faction also suspended four executive members of the party – Joseph Fafi, Edison Sogwe, Panebi Fortune, and Tonye Okio, for conniving with the former Governor Sylva to allegedly destabilise the party by publishing an illegal statement on purported suspension of the chairman, Chief Tiwei Orunimigha, the deputy and the secretary of the party on Friday.
The Tiwei Orunimighe-led faction in a statement on Saturday signed by him (Orunimighe) and the secretary (Marlin Daniel) suspended Sylva and four others, and said the party’s decision was reached after due consultations with the relevant stakeholders.
The statement accused Sylva of anti-party activities, attempts to form a parallel executive, betrayal of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and corruption.
“After due consultations with relevant stakeholders and elders in the state, the Bayelsa State executive committee at an emergency meeting today (Saturday) took the painful but necessary decision to suspend our flagbearer in the 2015 governorship election, Chief Timipre Sylva.
“Anti-party activities. We have it on good record that Timipre Sylva, last Tuesday precisely, paid a clandestine visit to one of the South-South governors of the Peoples Democratic Party. This is just one of the series of correspondences between them and we find it grossly unbecoming.