Indications have emerged that Professor Maureen Etebu ,Vice Chancellor of the Nigerian Maritime University Okerenkoko in Delta State, may have indeed collected the nomination form for the governorship election in Bayelsa state scheduled for November 16. Her entry into the race brings to 7, the number of aspirants under the banner of the All Progressive Congress, APC.
Usually dependable sources at the National Secretariat of the APC told our correspondent that Prof Etebu may have picked her form on tuesday. A confidant of the former Governor told our correspondent that the university don was in utter disbelief when she was informed that another APC chieftain, Chief David Lyon is the preffered candidate of former Governor,Chief Timipre Sylva.
“How would His Excellency do this to me? It is unbelievable that after persuading me to pick up the form he now has opted for another preffered candidate”, she was said to have complained. The erstwhile two time Bayelsa commissioner who also served under Gov Sylva and whose husband, Professor Etebu is Vice Chancellor of the newly established Bayelsa State Medical University, Yenagoa said she would nonetheless face tomorrow’s screening exercise at the National Secretariat of the APC notwithstanding the entry of Chief Lyon.
The other aspirants who are billed to present themselves for the screening tomorrow include Sen Heneiken Lokpobiri, the immediate past Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Preye Aganaba, Mrs Diseye Nsirim, former Cross River INEC REC, Dr Franklin Biriyai and Chief Ebitimi Amgbare “Our correspondent learnt on good authority that Heneiken Lokpobiri had in the course of his consultations sought and gotten the blessing and endorsements of both President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC leader in Bayelsa state, Chief Timipre Sylva
Asu Beks