A former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) with immediate effect.
Sylva announced his resignation in a letter dated August 31, 2026, addressed and electronically sent to the APC Chairman of Ward 4 in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
He said he decided to leave the party after consulting with his family, associates, colleagues and supporters.
“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.
Sylva, who described himself as a founding member of the APC, accused the party’s current leadership of abandoning the principles that attracted him and other Nigerians to the party.
He said the leaders had abandoned basic standards of morality and decency by acting as though “all is fair in politics.”
“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.
“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.
“All cannot be fair in any endeavour of life. The demands of basic decency and morality forbid it,” he said.
The former governor also criticised the Federal Government, saying its performance under the APC had disappointed many Nigerians.
“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.
“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 subsequently called on Nigerians to vote against the APC in the 2027 general 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 stated.
He also accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of acting like an arm of the APC rather than an independent government institution.
Sylva said he was aware that his resignation could lead to increased scrutiny of him and his associates by anti-graft agencies and security forces.
“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.
“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.
Copies of the resignation letter were also sent to the APC National Chairman, the Executive Chairman of the EFCC and the Bayelsa State Chairman of the party.
