2011: Governors will support Jonathan if..., says Sylva

Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva spoke Tuesday on the President's political future, saying governors would back him, if he decides to run next year.

He was speaking at the end of the meeting between the President and the Niger Delta governors on the post-amnesty programme in the oil rich Niger Delta region.

The governor said from what he is seeing majority of the people wants to see a Jonathan presidency come 2011.

At the meeting were governors of Edo, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Imo and Akwa Ibom states. The deputy governor of Ondo, Alhaji Ali Alanusi was there.

Sylva said Niger Delta governors and the majority of their colleagues, were only waiting for President Goodluck Jonathan to declare his intention before coming out to support him.

Sylva said: "I have said so many times that I will be supporting the President, if he comes out to contest in 2011 and I can assure you that a lot of governors and a lot of people in Nigeria are ready to support him."

He was replying to reporters'  questions.
On the impeachment of his Deputy, Peremobowei Ebebi, Sylva said the process of replacing him was on.

"I got to know that the deputy governor has been impeached by the state legislature and, of course, we are in the process of getting a replacement for the deputy governor," the governor said.

He also denied the report that the lawmakers were rooting for one of them for the job.

On the kind of man he is looking for, he said: "I will be shopping for a man who can do the job of the deputy governor," adding that there is no specific man in mind for now.

Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio also confirmed what Sylva told reporters that the people were waiting for Jonathan to state his interest.

On the meeting, Akpabio said it centered on the harmonisation of the Public Procurement Act with that of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), with a view to ensuring that due process is strictly followed in project execution.