‘Unstatesmanlike’: Sylva, running mate tackle Jonathan over remarks on relocating mother

Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress and his running mate in the recent Bayelsa State governorship election, Joshua Maciver, have criticised former President Goodluck Jonathan over his comments on the outcome of the election.

Reacting to fellow Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart and incumbent governor Douye Diri’s victory, Jonathan declared he would have relocated his mother from his home state of Bayelsa to Abuja if the APC had won.

Sylva expressed his dismay in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing, “Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s statement is unfortunate.

“I sincerely hope he was misquoted. Let me just quote our respected Wole Soyinka: ‘you can take the hippopotamus out of the swamp but you cannot take the swamp out of the hippopotamus.'”

‘Be Non-Partisan’

In a similar vein, Maciver condemned Jonathan’s endorsement of Diri.

In a statement, the APC deputy governorship candidate described the former president’s action as “unstatesmanlike” in a state where, according to him, Jonathan should have played a non-partisan fatherly role to all candidates and parties during the political season.

He argued Jonathan’s comments openly demarkets Bayelsa State as unsafe and insecure, which should not have been made by a former President.

According to him, the former president’s words have lost him the respect of all true followers of Sylva.

Last Friday, Jonathan revealed that he planned to relocate his aged mother out of Bayelsa State if the governor had lost at the November 11 governorship election as his mother and other relatives had been victims of kidnapping in the state.

He added that Bayelsa has experienced peace and fewer kidnap cases during Diri’s tenure.