I resigned from PDP to embarrass Jonathan, Sylva at the polls -Alaibe

By NBF News

The former special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta affairs, Chief Timi Alaibe, has said he resigned from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest Bayelsa State gubernatorial election to embarrass Jonathan and Governor Timipre Sylva.

Alaibe, who is now the gubernatorial candidate for the Labour Party (LP) told Daily Sun in Uyo where he came to attend the Lutheran Church of Nigeria convention that he resigned with the intention of winning the Bayelsa gubernatorial election to prove to Jonathan and Sylva that he was the one with the political structures on ground.

He said in 2007, the then president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo prevailed on him to drop his gubernatorial election for Siyvlva with the promise that the latter would go for only one term while he would take a shot at the governorship seat in 2011.

Alaibe said Sylva surprised him by going against the agreement that they had in 2007 and both President Jonathan and Chief Obasanjo could not tell him to drop the idea.

'I stepped down for him because he was supposed to run for one term. So, why does he want to go for a second term? So that is why I resigned because I want to go and embarrass him at the poll.'

When reminded of Sylva's incumbency advantage and the fact that Jonathan would not accept PDP losing the gubernatorial election in his home state, Alaibe said: 'Let them do their abracadabra this time around and let the whole world see. We will embarrass everybody.

We have the civil society. We will guard our votes. We won't allow them to hijack the materials and write the result the way they normally do.' He described Sylva's administration as a colossal failure, adding that even though all governors in Nigeria or anybody in place of authority might not be completely incorruptible, there could be reprieve if they still used part of the money to develop the place.

Alaibe, who sought special prayer said he left PDP to contest on another platform because the party had so aligned forces against him that it would have been impossible for him to win the party's nomination with the kind of delegates, who voted at the primaries.