Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

Governor Seriake Dickson has rallied support for his predecessor and arch political rival, former governor, Timipre Sylva, ahead of his ministerial screening by the Senate.

Sylva, the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, has been locked in a bitter political feud with Dickson since he lost the governorship contest to Dickson in 2012. They were also bitter political enemies in the 2015 governorship election which remains one of the fiercest in the annals of the electoral contest in the state.

But the governor, in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media Relations, Fidelis Soriwei, congratulated Sylva on his nomination as minister, and appealed to the two Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senators not to oppose his nomination during the screening.

The governor called on the senators to support Sylvia’s nomination in the interest of Bayelsa irrespective of political differences.

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He recalled that he congratulated the former minister of Agriculture, Heineken Lokpibiri, and canvassed similar support for him when his name was forwarded to the Senate in President Muhammadu Buhari’s first tenure.

He said by Sylvia’s nomination, President Buhari displayed appreciation of loyalty, a virtue which he considers critical in political leadership.

He said he had worked assiduously to enthrone a similar political culture in Bayelsa in the past seven years and called on political leaders to show the requisite loyalty in appreciation of the support for their followers.

Dickson said loyalty is a two-way virtue which should be considered pertinent both by followers and the leaders.

Meanwhile, the member representing Nembe/Brass Federal Constituency, Israel Sunny-Goli, has commended President Buhari for nominating Sylva as a minister.