Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, has withdrawn his bid to contest for president under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This was disclosed in a report by the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday evening.
This comes as President Buhari had last week ordered all political appointees seeking office to resign on or before the 16th of May. Sylva joins two other ministers – Chris Ngige and Abubakar Malami, in dropping his political ambitions.
What they are saying
The report disclosed that an official at the ministry stated that the Minister withdrew from the race to support President Muhammadu Buhari‘s administration’s regulatory reforms in the oil sector.
It stated that Sylva promised to consult the leader of the country and political leaders the day he was presented with the form.
“He believes that concentrating on his work will attract more investments for the oil and gas sector.
“He has consulted, and he believes that the challenges at the ministry and oil and gas sector are enough issues for him to begin to deal with now than going to pursue presidential ambition at the expense of the nation.
“The oil and gas sector is the mainstay of the economy, and it is not like any other ministry someone can just come in and take over.
“It requires some measures of time for the person to understand what is happening in the system,” the official said.
The official added that for the interest of the industry and the nation, Sylva has decided to wave that personal ambition to see what he can contribute in the remaining days of President Buhari’s administration.
“The implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 is very critical, and he wants to continue to make his contribution to the day-to-day running of the country and support Mr. President for robust achievements,” the official said.
In case you missed it
- Nairametrics reported last week that during a valedictory session for outgoing ministers with political ambitions, the Minister at the event included Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio; Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva; Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.
- Others are the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development, Uche Ogah, the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, and the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Tayo Alasoadura.
