…Sylva has recently faced mounting pressure from Nigerian authorities.
…The EFCC has declared him wanted in connection with allegations concerning the alleged dishonest conversion of $14.859 million, allegations he has rejected.
…He has also been named in a Federal Government case involving an alleged plot to overthrow the government, further intensifying the legal and political pressure surrounding him.
MON AUG 31 2026-theGBJournal| Former Bayelsa State governor and ex-minister Timipre Sylva has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), bringing to an abrupt end his membership of a party he described as one he helped build “with sweat and money”.
In a strongly worded resignation letter dated 31 August 2026, Sylva told his ward chairman in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State that he could no longer, “in all good conscience”, remain in the ruling party.
His departure comes against the backdrop of his recent travails with Nigerian authorities, including an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission investigation and his being named among defendants in a Federal Government case relating to an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s government.
But it is his explanation for leaving the APC that gives the resignation its political weight.
Sylva, a founding member of the APC, said he had consulted his family, associates, colleagues and sympathisers before reaching his decision.
“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 said leaving was particularly painful because of his history with the party.
“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.”
But Sylva’s sharpest criticism was reserved for what he described as the political philosophy of the party’s leadership.
“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.”
He rejected that principle outright.
“All cannot be fair in any endeavour of life. The demands of basic decency and morality forbid it.”
And, in a pointed reference to the present administration, he added:
“Unfortunately, this mentality appears to underpin virtually every action, and even inaction, of this administration.”
‘A floundering ship’
For Sylva, the problem is no longer simply the conduct of individual party leaders. He argues that the APC-led government itself has lost the political and moral direction that once attracted him and other founders.
“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.”
His conclusion was unequivocal:
“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 went further, casting his resignation as part of what he expects to become a broader electoral rejection of the ruling party.
“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.”
Perhaps the most politically charged part of the letter is Sylva’s decision to copy the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The former minister said he was doing so deliberately, accusing the anti-corruption agency of abandoning its institutional role.
“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.”
The timing is significant.
Sylva has recently faced mounting pressure from Nigerian authorities. The EFCC has declared him wanted in connection with allegations concerning the alleged dishonest conversion of $14.859 million, allegations he has rejected.
He has also been named in a Federal Government case involving an alleged plot to overthrow the government, further intensifying the legal and political pressure surrounding him.
Against that backdrop, Sylva appeared to anticipate that his break with the APC could invite further scrutiny.
“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.”
That sentence perhaps captures the tone of the entire letter: a political divorce delivered at a moment of considerable personal and legal pressure.
Sylva did not simply announce his departure. He framed it as a matter of conscience, accusing the party he helped build of betraying its founding ideals and warning that Nigerians could ultimately deliver their verdict at the ballot box.
He ended his letter with a simple declaration:
“Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Additional reporting by Azuka Christopher, London
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