About Timipre Sylva
Gearing up to run for reelection next year, Timipre Sylva is the Governor of Nigeria’s Bayelsa State, where he resides with his wife and their three children. Having held several political positions, Timipre Sylva’s life as a civic leader began when he worked as Executive Secretary for the National Minority Business Council. In this role, Mr. Sylva generated job opportunities for the people of Nigeria. He then was elected to the Rivers State House of Assembly as part of the National Republic Convention. Mr. Sylva soon was forced out of office, however, when General Sani Abacha placed a ban on all political activity in 1993. From 1993 to 1998, Timipre Sylva held positions in the private sector until he could return to politics again following Abacha’s death.
A founding member of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP), Timipre Sylva was selected as State Financial Secretary. After Nigeria’s five-party system collapsed, Mr. Sylva joined the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), where he still holds allegiance today. He has worked in many advisory positions, among them a Political Advisor role to the former Governor of Bayelsa State and a Special Assistant role to the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources.
Mr. Sylva was born in Okpoma, Brass, while the region was still within the Rivers State. Having resided in Rivers and Bayelsa States for most of his life, he attended Saint Paul’s Anglican Primary School in Okpoma. He later went to the Government Secondary School in Twon-Brass, where he graduated in 1981. After moving to Port Harcourt and studying at the University there, Mr. Sylva embarked on his political career.
Timipre Sylva Links
