APC will flush out PDP in 2015 -Sylva

    
THE immediate past Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, has assured the people that the All Progressives Congress will work with the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, to flush out the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government in 2015.

Sylva, the leader of the APC in Bayelsa State, stated this when he led party executive members and supporters on a courtesy call on Amaechi at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Monday.

The former governor said they were in Rivers to show solidarity to Amaechi, adding that though President Goodluck Jonathan hails from Bayelsa, majority of the people from the state were frustrated with his (Jonathan) administration.

“We of the APC in Bayelsa State decided to come to you (Amaechi) to show you solidarity, to tell you that not everybody in Bayelsa State is against progress, not everybody in Bayelsa State is an enemy of progress, that you also have a family in Bayelsa State that identify with you all the way and we will stand by you all the way.

“When the time comes for us to sweep away the government of the day at the national level, Bayelsans will stand by you and be in the vanguard of sweeping away this government that has brought only misery to the Niger Delta.

“The APC is the platform for progress. You (Amaechi) are an epitome of progress, not only in the Niger Delta but in Nigeria. Everybody that comes to Rivers State will bear witness to what you have done, to your commitment and we will stand by you and we will continue to support you,” Sylva said.

He described the APC as a better alternative to the PDP and added that the APC had provided a credible platform for progressives to come together and sweep away the corruption and ineptitude of the current administration at the federal level.

The former governor pointed out that Jonathan’s presidency had opened cracks in the unity of the people of the South-South geo-political zone.

He said, “Today, we in the Niger Delta have the presidency of this country, but what has the presidency of this country brought to us? It has brought divisions; in fact, put a crack on the unity of the Niger Delta.”

Sylva recalled that Amaechi ran into trouble with the Federal Government when he (Amaechi) pointed out to the Jonathan administration to complete the East-West Road in the Niger Delta.

Responding, Amaechi thanked Sylva and the APC team from Bayelsa State for the visit and solidarity, even as he called on Nigerians to vote only credible leaders during elections.

“It’s important we realize that character is an essential element to good governance. You can’t see a man who has betrayed his friends and you say make him governor or make him deputy.

“What have you done? You have empowered him to betray more persons including betraying the money you have left behind in the coffers. So, character should be an essential element in selecting our leaders.

“As you are here, you are potential statesmen and women because if you allow the national interest to override your private interest, then you are a statesman.

“That you are coming from the state of the president, the party at the national level should praise and give you more support because it takes courage and strength of character to say no, this is where I identify myself with, not to follow because the president comes from your state,” Amaechi said.

He, however, called for freedom of choice and expression in the country’s current democratic dispensation.

“We want to be allowed to make our choices. We want to be allowed to express our views. We want to be allowed to express our interests and having expressed your interests and your views, the best you can do is to remain convinced in what you stand for, the governor added.