WHY I ACCEPTED TO SERVE IN SYLVA'S CABINET—AMBA-AMBAIOWEI

A strong critic of the administration of Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State, Capt. Wisdom Amba-Ambaiowei (rtd), has given reasons for his acceptance of a position in the cabinet of the present administration in the state

Amba-Ambaiowei, who only recently reconciled with the Bayelsa governor following his appointment as a Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Ethics and Good Governance, said after his first meeting with the governor, he discovered that he and his policies may not be as bad as he thought.

Speaking before a large section of the media in Yenagoa, Capt. Wisdom Amba-Ambaiowei said his offer of appointment came after the governor had accepted his 25-point conditions of serving in his cabinet, noting that the governor’s action was not based on fear or attempts to bribe him in any form.

He said: “In accepting the offer to serve, I have at the back of my mind that I have a lot to offer to the governor in terms of fighting against corruption and advising him to steer the state in the right course.

Thus nobody should insinuate that the governor appointed me out of fear and has not bribed me in any form.

“Rather he was wise enough to have appointed me to see that I come to assist and advise him in particular government decision making. I am pretty aware that if I am to do my work effectively, I might be stepping on people’s toes and therefore expect the media to always come to my aid.

I also pray that the general public should report any fraudulent act by any government official to this office.”

On why he took on the position of a viable critic of policies and actions of the present administration since inception, he said his positions on styles adopted in tackling issues of hostage taking and militancy, was not meant to ridicule the administration but to create a new direction in the handling of the issues.

“I was not fighting the governor on personal grounds but rather for the general good of the state and the Izon in general.

“When two brothers fight or quarrel over anything, it should be fought with ‘no victor, no vanquished’ in mind and with caution.

"As an elder statesman and since nobody seems to be in opposition in attempting to checkmate the excesses of the government activities that do not seem to conform to the general will, I took up the fight against the governor being the head of the government and nothing more or less.”