The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva has resigned to contest for the Bayelsa State All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship primary.
According to Reuters, Sylva handed his resignation letter last week to President Buhari, who doubles as Nigeria’s petroleum minister.
The state primary election is scheduled to take place on April 14, 2023.
President Muhammadu Buhari is currently serving his final weeks in office before giving way to President-elect Bola Tinubu on May 29.
Sylva served as governor of Bayelsa for one full term between 2008 and 2012.
At the time, he was a member of the People’s Democratic Party, which was then in power at the federal level but is now in opposition.
Appointed junior oil minister in August 2019, Sylva oversaw major reforms in the oil sector, including the passing of legislation that overhauled the sector’s fiscal regime in a bid to spur investment.