Timipre Sylva is the Governor of Bayelsa State in Nigeria. Elected in 2008 with an overwhelming majority of votes, he has endeavored to turn what he claims to be the poorest, most underdeveloped state of Nigeria into a prosperous, secure, and united region. Timipre Sylva is a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). In the past, he was a member of the National Republican Convention (NRC), which dissolved during the military intervention of General Sana Abacha, and the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP), which he helped found after the lifting of the politics ban.

Before becoming Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva held a number of political positions. He began his career with the National Minority Business Council of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. In his role as Executive Secretary, Sylva was responsible for creating employment opportunities. His efforts in this position led to his election to the Rivers State House of Assembly in the early 1990s as part of the National Republican Convention. When General Sana Abacha’s actions cut his term short, Sylva returned to the private sector until the end of the ban.

When Timipre Sylva went back into politics, it was as a founding member of the United Nigeria Congress Party. He became State Financial Secretary following this. After the shakeup that destroyed the five political parties then acting in Nigeria, Sylva embraced the People’s Democratic Party, serving until 2002 under Bayelsa State’s Governor, Diepreye Solomon Peter “DSP” Alamieyeseigha. Timipre Sylva was a member of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Agriculture in Umudike Abia State until 2004, and served as an Assistant to the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources.

Timipre Sylva’s education began at St. Paul’s Anglican Primary School in his hometown of Okpoma, Rivers State, which would eventually become part of Bayelsa State. He completed his primary education in the former capital of Nigeria, Lagos, at the Ajeromi Ifelodun Central School. Next, Timipre Sylva undertook higher education at the Government Secondary School in Twon-Brass, Bayelsa State, and finished at University of Port Harcourt in Choba, Rivers State.