Former Bayelsa State Governor and ex-Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress, APC, accusing the party and the administration of President Bola Tinubu of abandoning the principles on which the party was founded.
Sylva, a founding member of the APC, announced his resignation in a letter dated August 31, 2026, addressed to the APC chairman of Ward 4 in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
In the letter, Sylva said he could no longer remain in the party “in all good conscience” because of what he described as the abandonment of the party’s founding ideals.
“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 wrote.
He accused the present administration of disappointing Nigerians and expressed doubts about the possibility of reforming the party.
“The present government, formed under the banner of the APC we once loved, has disappointed the vast majority of Nigerians. And I can see neither a credible attempt nor any possibility of a revamp,” he said.
Sylva described the APC as a “floundering ship” weighed down by what he called an “irredeemable load of iniquities.”
He expressed confidence that Nigerians would reject the party at future elections.
His resignation comes amid allegations by the Federal Government of an alleged plot to overthrow the Tinubu administration and an EFCC case involving alleged fraud.
Sylva also copied the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on his resignation letter, accusing the agency of acting more like a political organisation than an independent institution.
He said he was aware that his resignation could trigger further action against him and his associates.
“I am fully aware that this action of mine may invite a redoubled witch-hunt against me and my associates, but that is a risk I am willing to take,” he wrote.
However, the APC Ward 4 chairman in Brass Local Government Area, Ebi James, said he had not officially received the resignation letter.
“First and foremost, I am not a social media person, and I have not had any letter to that effect. So until I am served, I can’t comment on it,” James said.
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