Timipre Sylva's bid for governor after resigning last week as President Muhammadu Buhari's minister of state for petroleum is hanging by a thread in the wake of allegations of forged documents and stolen identities brought before the Senate with plenty of supporting evidence.
According to the petition, Mr. Sylva also submitted paperwork to change his name from Sylva to Timipre on May 12, 2022, apparently after realizing that his identity violations might jeopardize his bid for governor.
Mr. Sylva had previously held high-level state and federal positions, including governor of Bayelsa from 2007 to 2012 and minister of state for petroleum resources, before attempting to have his name changed in an official gazette.
The most recent allegations of forgery and identity theft were listed in a petition Timi Frank, a former spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC), sent to Senate President Ahmad Lawan. Timi Frank pleaded with Lawan to call Mr. Sylva and representatives from his alma maters in Nigeria and Switzerland to explain the inconsistencies in the politician's identity.
The petition, dated March 31, 2023, and provided to Peoples Gazette stated that Mr. Sylva's name appeared on his primary school diploma as Anagha Timipere. He submitted the papers to a court in the US as part of a defamation lawsuit that his attorneys are currently pursuing.
However, the name Anagha Timipere that Mr. Sylva used on his WAEC certificate was different from Marlin Anagha Timipere.
Similar to the former petroleum minister, Anagha Timipre Marlin's name appears on the certificate for the former minister's bachelor's degree in English from the University of Port-Harcourt.
This again conflicts with Chief Timipre Sylva's doctoral degree in international relations from Ubis University, Switzerland, which he received in 2011.
“Obviously, the certificates mentioned above have visible anomalies and do not depict the true identity of CHIEF TIMPRE SYLVA. It is confusing as to who CHIEF TIMIPRE SYLVA is; who ANAGHA TIMIPRE MARLIN is; who MARLIN ANAGHA TIMIPRE is and who ANAGHA TIMIPERE is,†based on Mr. Frank's petition, which the Senate received on April 4, 2023.
It was also noted that Mr. Sylva did not use any of the aforementioned names to obtain an exemption certificate or take part in the required one-year National Youth Service Corps.
The fact that there is no proof that the former petroleum minister ever changed any of the aforementioned names to his current name, or that there is no supporting documentation, further complicates the situation.
“There is no evidence anywhere showing that CHIEF TIMPRE SYLVA ever changed his name from ANAGHA TIMIPRE MARLIN to TIMIPRE SYLVA in 1986 after he purportedly graduated from University of Port Harcourt,†stated the petition.
“Investigation by our client reveals that there is also no record that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources has National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Discharge or Exemption Certificate, as the case may be, either in the name of ANAGHA TIMIPRE MARLIN or TIMIPRE SYLVA,†highlighted the document.
The document's inconsistencies led the petitioner to claim that Mr. Sylva most likely had his academic credentials stolen or falsified, a violation of Section 438 of the Criminal Code Act that carries a 14-year prison sentence.
Mr. Frank urged the Senate to call INEC, CCB, and SSS representatives to testify regarding their roles in screening and approving Mr. Sylva's appointment as a minister and his successful 2007 governorship bid.
In addition, the petitioner requested that the Senate call Mr. Sylva and representatives from each educational institution that issued him a certificate in order to verify the petitioner's identity and the legitimacy of the academic certificate–Ajeromi Central School in Apapa, Lagos, the WAEC office, the University of Port-Harcourt, and Ubis University in Switzerland are among the institutions.
In the meantime, the Senate requested that the Nigerian Immigration Service seize Mr. Sylva's foreign passport in order to stop him from leaving Nigeria and seeking asylum in Western countries such as the United States, Canada, and so forth.
However, the threat of forgery and impersonation could jeopardize Mr. Sylva's aspirations, as was the case with David Lyon, an APC candidate for governor of Bayelsa, whose election victory was overturned in 2019 because of errors in the name of his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo.
Messages asking for comments on the situation were not immediately answered by Mr. Sylva. But he had previously brushed off questions about his records, blaming them on his political rivals.
Mr. Sylva boasted that he was arguably the most well-liked governor in Bayelsa, and he expressed confidence in the support of the people to help him return to the Government House in Yenagoa. His tenure there was cut short when the Supreme Court removed him from office in January 2012.
The Gazette exposed Mr. Sylva as one of several Nigerian politicians who accepted millions of dollars in bribes to minimize the significance of the host communities clause in the recently passed petroleum industry law. Inquiries about his involvement in the bribery scandal have been avoided.