“I am fully aware that my actions may invite a redoubled witch hunt against me and my associates, but that is a risk I am willing to take,” the former governor of Bayelsa said.
Former Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing the ruling party of abandoning the ideals on which it was founded.
His resignation comes as he remains wanted by the EFCC in connection with an alleged $14.85 million fraud case. He has also been named as a suspect in the alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu.
Mr Sylva said his decision to leave the APC followed consultations with his family, associates, colleagues and supporters.
“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.
Mr Sylva, a former minister of state for petroleum resources, said the government formed under the APC had disappointed many Nigerians and that he could not see a credible effort to change its direction.
He described the party as a “founding ship whose fate appears to have been sealed by its irredeemable load of iniquities”.
The former governor also predicted that Nigerians would seek a change of government at the 2027 elections.
“I have no doubt that, in the coming election, Nigerians will vote for Nigeria and free the country from this stranglehold on our beautiful country,” he said.
Mr Sylva copied the EFCC on his resignation letter and accused the commission of conducting itself as an arm of the ruling party.
“I am deliberately putting the EFCC in a copy of this letter because, of late, it conducted itself more as an organ of the APC than as an institution of the state,” he said, without providing evidence.
He said he was aware that leaving the APC and making the accusation could trigger further scrutiny of him and his associates.
“I am fully aware that my actions may invite a redoubled witch hunt against me and my associates, but that is a risk I am willing to take,” he said.
In November 2025, the EFCC declared Mr Sylva wanted in connection with an alleged conspiracy and dishonest conversion involving $14,859,257.
The case relates to funds allegedly provided by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board for the construction of the Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited.
Mr Sylva has previously challenged the EFCC’s handling of the matter through his spokesperson, Julius Bokoru, who accused the commission of failing to follow due process before declaring him wanted.
Mr Sylva’s resignation also comes months after he was linked to an alleged plot to overthrow Mr Tinubu’s government.
He is listed among the defendants in a 13-count charge filed by the federal government over the alleged coup plot.
PREMIUM TIMES reported in February that investigators identified Mr Sylva as the alleged principal financier of the plot and accused him of contributing about N785 million through Purple Waves Limited, an Abuja-based company.
The former governor denied involvement in the alleged coup.
Subsequent PREMIUM TIMES investigations based on thousands of pages of security documents provided further details about the alleged financial network.
Investigators alleged that more than N5 billion was pooled into an account linked to the plot, with about N785 million traced to Mr Sylva’s alleged contribution. They said the money was moved through Purple Waves Limited and a Bureau de Change operator before being distributed to people allegedly involved in the operation.
A separate PREMIUM TIMES investigation reported that investigators believed funds credited to Purple Waves included proceeds allegedly linked to a Niger Delta Development Commission contract as well as loans obtained by the company. The report said the investigators identified Mr Sylva as being at the centre of the alleged financing arrangement.
Mr Sylva has not been convicted of the allegations.
In July, this newspaper also reported that the State Security Service arraigned five of his associates for allegedly concealing his whereabouts after he was declared wanted in connection with the alleged coup plot. The defendants pleaded not guilty.
In May, the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the interim forfeiture of nine properties linked to him following an application by the EFCC.
Mr Sylva’s departure removes a prominent Niger Delta politician from the APC as political alignments begin to take shape ahead of the 2027 general elections. In Bayelsa, where Mr Sylva hails from, the opposition Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), with Seriake Dickson as its national leader, is building momentum.
Mr Dickson, a serving senator, is the former governor of Bayelsa. The NDC presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections is Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State.
Mr Sylva served as Bayelsa governor from 2007 to 2012 and later became minister of state for Petroleum Resources under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
His resignation comes amid growing criticism of the Tinubu administration over the economy and governance, with opposition parties seeking to consolidate support ahead of the next general election.
