TheCable Fact Check
  • Home
  • Fact Check
  • Fake News
  • Check Am For Wazobia
Reading: FACT CHECK: Did Sylva pay congratulatory visit to Diri after Bayelsa guber poll?
Share
Latest News
Ḿbà, Naijiria ézipụ̀ghị̀ ńdị́ ágha ńkwàdó ùdó nà òbòdò Isreal
No, Nigeria no send peace support mission go Israel
A’a, Najeriya ba ta tura tawagar taimakon zaman lafiya zuwa Isra’ila ba
Ǹjẹ́ Tinubu àti Alexander Zingman lọ sí ilé-ìwé kan náà? Èyí ni ohun tí a mọ̀
Tinubu nà Alexander Zingman ọ̀ gàrà ótù ụ́lọ̀ákwụ́kwọ́? Lèé íhé ányị́ mà
Tinubu go di same school wit Alexander Zingman? Na wetin we sabi be dis
Shin Tinubu ya halarci makaranta daya da Alexander Zingman? Ga abin da muka sani
Did Tinubu attend same school as Alexander Zingman? Here is what we know
Advertisement
Aa
TheCable Fact CheckTheCable Fact Check
Search
  • Home
  • Fact Check
  • Fake News
  • Check Am For Wazobia
Follow US

FACT CHECK: Did Sylva pay congratulatory visit to Diri after Bayelsa guber poll?

Samuel Akpan
By Samuel Akpan Published November 16, 2023 4 Min Read
Share

A video of Timipre Sylva, former minister of state for petroleum resources, shaking hands with Douye Diri, governor of Bayelsa state, has surfaced online.

According to persons who posted the video, Sylva was congratulating Diri following the latter’s victory at the Bayelsa governorship election held on Saturday.

Diri, who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), secured 175,196 votes to defeat Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 110,108 votes.

The video has been gaining traction on social media, particularly on X, with thousands of views and engagements.

“Chief Timipre Sylva, the candidate of APC pays congratulatory visit to Governor Douye Diri of PDP. Pls do not die in their war. Imagine those who lost their lives for nothing. Really sad,” an X user who shared the video wrote.

https://twitter.com/emmaikumeh/status/1724840746761543867?t=RaJrNA-7lRkOaer0Ndnpgw&s=08

In the extensively circulated video, Sylva can be seen vigorously shaking Diri while engaged in an inaudible conversation with him.

Another X user wrote: “Chief Timipre Sylva, the candidate of APC pays a congratulatory visit to Governor Douye Diri of PDP. Those who died in the course of the #BayelsaDecides2023 contest died for nothing. Good thing is that Governor Diri will concentrate on development of the state.”

Chief Timipre Sylva, the candidate of APC pays congratulatory visit to Governor Douye Diri of PDP. Those who died in the course of the #BayelsaDecides2023 contest died for nothing.

Good thing is that Governor Diri will concentrate on development of the state. pic.twitter.com/gzRpRDAjuh

— Tonye Barcanista (@TonyeBarcanista) November 15, 2023

WHY IT MATTERS TO CHECK THE CLAIM

Although there are no permanent enemies in politics, Sylva and Diri are momentarily at loggerheads over the outcome of the Bayelsa governorship poll.

On election day, Diri had accused Sylva of fanning the flames of violence during electoral processes.

“Timipre Sylva has been a violent person in every election. If you recall, the leader of the Ijaw nation, elder Edwin Clark, wrote a letter to him on why he has refused to drop his forceful and violent way of winning elections,” Diri said after casting his vote.

“However, God is on the throne and we’re standing against him in his violent way of winning elections.”

On his part, Sylva claimed that the PDP perpetrated violence during the poll. He also alleged that security agencies were “playing on the side of the PDP”.

“There is a lot of violence from the PDP trying to molest our voters with security (agents). In fact, in some cases, it is believed by our people that we are running the election, not against PDP, but against security (agents) but we are containing it,” Sylva said.

VERIFYING THE CLAIM

TheCable conducted a reverse image search on several screenshots from the alleged congratulation video, and the search results returned a TikTok account registered under the username GbaramatuVoiceTV.

The video was posted by GbaramatuVoiceTV in May 2023, six months before the governorship election in Bayelsa.

The video had an accompanying caption which reads: “HE Timipre Sylva attends HE Douye Diri’s father’s burial in Sampou.”

Diri’s father, the late Pa Abraham, a retired headmaster, passed away on February 12, 2023, at the age of 88. He was buried on May 6.

The GbaramatuVoiceTV TikTok account is also replete with other posts of various events, including weddings and anniversaries.

VERDICT

The video is old and not a congratulatory greeting from Sylva to Diri for winning the gubernatorial election.

The video was shot and posted in May 2023 when Sylva visited Diri to commiserate with him on the demise of the father.

While Diri has commended the electoral umpire for the conduct of the election, the APC in the state rejected his victory, demanding that INEC review the results within one week.

TAGGED: Douye Diri, Fact Check, Timipre Slyva

Please send your feedback, claims to fact check and corrections requests to [email protected]

Samuel Akpan November 16, 2023 November 16, 2023
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Leave a comment Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

POPULAR POSTS

Advertisement

Ḿbà, Naijiria ézipụ̀ghị̀ ńdị́ ágha ńkwàdó ùdó nà òbòdò Isreal

Ótù ihe ngosị si na Facebook kwuru na Naijiria zipụrụ ndị agha ka ha gaa…

June 28, 2025

No, Nigeria no send peace support mission go Israel

One Facebook video claim sey Nigeria send soldiers go Israel for joint peace support mission.…

June 28, 2025

A’a, Najeriya ba ta tura tawagar taimakon zaman lafiya zuwa Isra’ila ba

Wani faifan bidiyo na Facebook ya nuna cewa Najeriya ta tura dakaru domin aikin hadin…

June 28, 2025

Ǹjẹ́ Tinubu àti Alexander Zingman lọ sí ilé-ìwé kan náà? Èyí ni ohun tí a mọ̀

Níbi ìfọwọ́ṣe ètò ìgbéṣẹ̀ “Renewed Hope Mechanisation Programme” ní Abuja ní ọjọ́ Mọ́ńdè kan, Ààrẹ…

June 28, 2025
Advertisement
Advertisement

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Did Tinubu attend same school as Alexander Zingman? Here is what we know

During the launch of the renewed hope mechanisation programme in Abuja on Monday, President Bola Tinubu said Alexander Zingman, a…

Fact CheckTop Stories
June 24, 2025

FACT CHECK: No, Nigeria didn’t deploy peace support mission to Israel

A Facebook video purports that Nigeria deployed troops for a joint peace support mission in Israel. A male broadcaster reporting…

Fact Check
June 24, 2025

FACT CHECK: Did lawmakers skip the national anthem during Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech?

A viral X post claims that Nigeria’s new national anthem was not recited during the Democracy Day event at the…

Fact CheckTop Stories
June 13, 2025

FACT CHECK: Did a military coup oust Paul Biya as Cameroon’s president?

Reports of a military coup in Cameroon ousting President Paul Biya have gone viral on social media. On Tuesday, jimmoexpress37,…

Fact CheckTop Stories
June 13, 2025

CableCheck seeks to provide reliable tools and resources for readers to tackle the menace of fake and misleading materials constantly pushed into the public space from various sources. We monitor the accuracy of claims made in traditional and social media. We also provide a tracker to hold politicians and policymakers accountable for the plans and promises they make to the public. CableCheck is a project of the Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNJF), supported by the MacArthur Foundation and implemented by TheCable newspaper.

Follow US: 

LINKS

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Non-Partisanship Policy
  • Funding
  • Correction Policy
© Copyright TheCable. All Rights reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?