Amid a flurry of social media claims suggesting that former Bayelsa State Governor and Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva, CON, has fled the country over alleged political intrigues, his media aide has firmly denied the reports, describing them as “baseless fabrications.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr. Julius Bokoru, Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs to Chief Sylva, clarified that while Sylva’s Abuja residence was indeed raided recently by individuals believed to be operatives of the Defence Headquarters, the former minister was not in the country at the time of the incident.
According to Bokoru, the operation resulted in significant damage to the property, and the officers reportedly gave no official reason or authorization for the raid. “Despite sustained efforts, I have been unable to ascertain the reasons or authorisation for this operation,” he stated.
He explained that Chief Sylva and his wife, Her Excellency, Alanyingi Sylva, were abroad—Sylva for a routine medical check-up in the United Kingdom, after which he was scheduled to attend a professional conference in Malaysia.
Bokoru dismissed any suggestion linking the former governor to an alleged coup plot, noting that the Defence Headquarters has already refuted such claims. “Chief Timipre Sylva, CON, has no involvement whatsoever—either in planning or in logistics—with any such plot,” he affirmed.
He further described Sylva as “a thoroughbred democrat” whose political career has been built on transparency and respect for democratic institutions, citing his long service from the 1990s Rivers State House of Assembly to his tenure as Bayelsa Governor.
Bokoru also reaffirmed Sylva’s “unwavering loyalty” to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, recalling how Sylva personally led the Bayelsa APC to endorse Tinubu at an expanded stakeholders’ meeting earlier this year.
“These rumours,” Bokoru concluded, “are nothing more than the handiwork of desperate and narcissistic politicians, already consumed by their 2027 ambitions, who see Sylva as their last real obstacle—a man whose credibility continues to expose their dark motives.”
