Sylva May Run Guber Race With Ex-Militant, Maciver, As Deputy

Barring last minute political considerations, a repentant Niger Delta militant, Great Joshua Maciver, will contest the gubernatorial election as running mate to Chief Timipre Sylva of the APC.

Sylva emerged winner of the APC primary election last week, while Maciver emerged first runner up. After the result was announced, he was quick to accept the outcome and congratulate Sylva.

The former freedom fighter has been going with Sylva to virtually all the places they have gone for consultations, as they seek the blessing of people like Government Ekpemokpulo, popularly called Tompolo, and even the Olu of Warri.

Maciver is seen as a very strong force in the state, having been chairman of Southern Ijaw Local Government, under the PDP, before he defected to the APC.

The voting population in Southern Ijaw is so massive, such that politicians seeking to contest for the seat of governor would always want to court them.

The calculation in Sylva’s camp is that with Maciver, it would be possible to grab Southern Ijaw. However, with David Lyon still angry, it is not clear how his followers will take unfolding developments. Lyon is also from Southern Ijaw.

Maciver was born on April 15, 1979 in Olugbobiri Town in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayelsa State. He attended St Gabriel’ Primary School 2, Olugbobiri from 1986 to 1991 where he got his First School Leaving Certificate and proceeded to Community Secondary School, Olugbobiri from 1992 to 1998 and later obtained his West African School Certificate (WASC) in 2007.

In 2009, Maciver gained admission into the University of Port Harcourt to  Study Bachelor of arts,  Linguistic and Communication from where he graduated with second class upper in 2013.

He is the President of Iniebi Group Limited, a reputable dredging company that has executed so many contacts successfully in Nigeria.

He is also the Managing Director of  Bajeros Nigeria Limited and is known to have fought consistently to end pipeline vandalism and other criminal activities  in the Niger Delta Region.

Maciver was Director General of the Bayelsa Peace Restoration Team, the campaign organization for the re-election of Henry Seriake Dickson as governor of the state.

It is said that Maciver started armed struggle in Bayelsa State as part of the Niger Delta Struggle at the age of 18 in Olugbobiri Kingdom, due largely to the neglect by the government and the oil companies operating around the Niger Delta region.  He was later arrested by the government and imprisoned in 2003, for three years. After his release, he continued the Niger Delta struggle in 2005 and was among the first leaders of the ex-agitators in Bayelsa to renounce armed struggle even before the then President Umaru Musa Yaradua initiated the amnesty programme.

A source close to Sylva confirmed to TNN that Maciver was being considered for the top job.