Nigeria’s minister of state for petroleum, Timipre Sylva, has resigned to seek a second term as governor of Bayelsa state.
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Mr Sylva submitted his resignation letter last week to President Buhari, and stopped going to the office, Reuters quoted two sources who did not want to be identified.
The minister could not be immediately reached. The News Agency of Nigeria on Friday quoted his spokesperson, Horatius Egua, as saying he could not deny or confirm the report because he had not seen the resignation letter or be officially informed of it.
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Mr Sylva was appointed junior oil minister in August 2019 by President Buhari, who held back the senior portfolio.
Mr Sylva oversaw the passing of the petroleum industry bill, a major legislation that had remained at the National Assembly for years. The new law overhauled the oil and gas sector’s fiscal regime.
His tenure, however, also witnessed the lowest oil production in decades due to crude theft, with Angola overtaking Nigeria as Africa’s biggest producer and exporter for a few months last year.
The governorship election in Bayelsa, one of Nigeria’s off-cycle state polls, is scheduled for later this year. The primaries of the All Progressives Congress ticket is scheduled to take place on April 14.
Mr Sylva served as governor between 2008 and 2012.
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