The immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva has won the All Progressives Congress, APC, gubernatorial primaries in a landslide, defeating the 2019 governor-elect, Chief David Pereworimini Lyon and four others.

The APC gubernatorial primaries were conducted in all 105 wards in the state on Friday, using the direct primary mode.

Announcing the results at the state APC secretariat on Saturday, the chairman of the APC Primary Election Committee and Returning Officer, Maj. Gen. A. T. Jibrin, retd, said Sylva polled a total of 52,061 votes to emerge, the winner, while an ex-agitator, Chief Joshua Maciver came a distant second with 2,078 votes, with the former Governor elect Chief David Lyon, coming third with 1,582 votes.

Lyon who was conspicuously absent during the announcement of results was also not represented by an agent.

Prof Ongoebi Etebu Maureen got 1271 votes to come fourth, Ogomade Isikima Johnson polled 584 votes, while Mr Festus Daumiebi who walked out of the hall while the results were being called polled 557 votes.

Jibrin said out of the 142,031 registered parties members, 58,171 persons were accredited and voted, adding that the difficult terrain of the state caused the delay in the collation and announcement of results.

He declared: “Chief Timipre Sylva, having scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared as the winner.”