Former Bayelsa State Governor and ex-Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing the ruling party of abandoning the ideals upon which it was founded.
Sylva, in a strongly worded resignation letter dated August 31, 2026, said he could no longer remain in a party whose leaders, he alleged, had embraced the philosophy that “all is fair in politics.”
The letter was electronically transmitted to the APC Chairman of Ward 4 in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Copies were also sent to the National Chairman of the APC, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Bayelsa State Chairman of the party.
Sylva said his decision followed extensive consultations with his family, associates, colleagues and sympathisers.
“Having consulted widely with my family, associates, colleagues and sympathisers, I wish to formally tender my resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC), with immediate effect,” he stated.
The former governor described himself as a founding member of the APC and recalled his contributions to the establishment and growth of the party.
He, however, expressed sadness over what he described as the “thorough and unrecognisable” abandonment of the ideals that initially attracted him and other Nigerians to the party.
“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.
Sylva also criticised the political conduct of the party’s leadership, arguing that political expediency should not override basic standards of morality and decency.
“Moreover, I cannot, in all good conscience, continue to belong to a Party whose leaders believe that ‘all is fair in politics,’ and have consistently demonstrated that belief in practice,” he said.
“All cannot be fair in any endeavour of life. The demands of basic decency and morality forbid it.”
The former minister further accused the APC-led Federal Government of disappointing the majority of Nigerians, expressing doubts about the possibility of reversing what he described as its failures.
“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,” Sylva stated.
He said he was consequently compelled to leave what he described as a “floundering ship.
“I am therefore left with no other choice than to jettison a floundering ship whose fate appears to have been sealed by its irredeemable load of iniquities,” he said.
Sylva expressed confidence that Nigerians would use the next general election to alter the political direction of the country.
“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 stated.
In a particularly pointed part of the letter, Sylva copied the EFCC, accusing the anti-corruption agency of increasingly behaving like an organ of the ruling party rather than an independent institution of state.
“I am deliberately putting the EFCC in copy of this letter because, of late, it has conducted itself more as an organ of the APC than as an institution of State,” he said.
Sylva acknowledged that his resignation could expose him and his associates to increased scrutiny or investigation.
“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 stated.
