The Minister of State for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, yesterday, dismissed as untrue, claims by a faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Bayelsa State that he bought the ministerial slot for the state, saying that he did not pay for the position he currently occupies in the Federal Executive Council.
The suspended Chairman of the Bayelsa chapter of the APC, Chief Tiwei Orunimighe, had in his comment against the governorship candidate of the party, Chief Timipre Sylva, called for the resignation of Lokpobiri, claiming that he bought the ministerial position from Sylva.
Lokpobiri, in a statement in Yenagoa through his Special Assistant, Media, Mr Donald Ojogo, said that the crisis in the Bayelsa APC was being “orchestrated by an insignificant few within the party and oiled by some external forces who feel threatened about their political future, specially as the APC challenges the outcome of the last governorship election at the Election Petition Tribunal.”
He insisted that he was found worthy for the position and was appointed, adding that he did not need to pay anybody.