State Minister for Petroleum drops Presidential ambition to focus on his work
The Nigerian Minister of State for petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva has decided to rescind his ambition in run for the apex seat in Nigeria under the banner of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC); to focus on his work as a minister.
According to an anonymous source in the ministry, Mr. Sylva’s withdrawal is based on the minister’s decision to keep on assisting President Muhammadu Buhari in the president’s bid to build a strong petroleum industry.
Earlier in May, a Northern Solidarity Group procured and presented the expression of interest and nomination form to the minister. Their purchase and presentation of the form is to help persuade the minister to participate in the coming primary elections within the party.
Furthermore, they claim the minister has a sizable amount of followers and fans in the northern part of the country, hence their decision to buy and present him with the form. Whilst acknowledging receipt, Mr. Sylva promised to make all necessary consultations with his political leaders before making a decision.
Why the Petroleum Minister is withdrawing
However, after undertaking the promised consultations, the minister claims that his current assignment, is to focus on his job; in order to facilitate more investments in the country’s petroleum industry. He further stated that he would rather face the current issues in the oil and gas sector; than chasing his dreams of becoming the number one citizen to the nation’s detriment.
In addition, the anonymous source, who is an official at the ministry; claims that citing petroleum as the bedrock of the nation’s economy the minister would not want to leave such an important office to the hands of anyhow person – because of its level of importance to the economy. That whoever would be coming needs time to understudy the system to gain a proper understanding of its workings.
The official added that the minister is rescinding his ambition to focus and contribute efficiently to the President’s tenure. Moreover, he wants to ensure that the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act gets the required implementation; which would help develop the oil and gas sector and ultimately build the country’s economy.
