Former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva resigned from the All Progressives Congress on Monday and accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of siding with the party rather than acting as a neutral state body.
Sylva, who has already been declared wanted over an alleged $14.86m fraud, sent his resignation letter electronically to the APC chairman of Ward 4 in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
In the letter dated 31 August, 2026, Sylva said the ideals that led him and others to found the APC had been abandoned.
He described the party with the expression “floundering ship” and said its leaders had embraced the belief that “all is fair in politics”. This is a practice he said basic decency could not permit.
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He also faulted the APC-led Federal Government, saying it had failed most Nigerians and that he saw no sign of a turnaround.
Sylva said his choice to leave followed talks with his family, associates, colleagues and sympathisers, and that he expects Nigerians to use the next election to change the country’s political direction.
EFCC responds to fraud allegation
Sylva said he copied the EFCC on his resignation letter because the commission had lately behaved like an arm of the APC instead of an institution of the state. He said he expected the move to invite a harder pursuit of him and his associates but was willing to accept that outcome.
Reacting on Monday, EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale rejected the claim and called on Sylva to submit himself for questioning. Oyewale noted that Sylva has already been declared wanted and should present himself to the commission.
Report maintained that the EFCC declared Sylva wanted in November 2025 over an alleged case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion involving $14,859,257.
His exit from the APC comes months after he was tied to an alleged plot against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Sylva is named as a defendant, listed as still at large, in a 13 count federal charge covering treason, terrorism related offences, conspiracy and money laundering linked to the alleged plot.
Reports say Sylva left Nigeria after the investigation became public, and people close to the matter say he put off returning home after a raid on his Abuja residence and the arrest of some associates.
Investigators have named him as an alleged main financier of the plot, claiming he contributed about N785m through an Abuja company, Purple Waves Limited. More than N5bn was reportedly raised for the alleged operation, with about N785m traced through Purple Waves and a bureau de change operator before the money was allegedly shared out. Investigators also claim funds paid into Purple Waves came from Niger Delta Development Commission contracts and loans taken by the company.
Sylva denies any part in the alleged plot, and the allegations are still before the courts. He has not been convicted.
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