The Buhari Support Group (BSG) has challenged the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, to stop using the name of President Muhammadu Buhari to promote his personal ambition.

BSG in a statement issued today in Yenagoa by its leader, Ebiowei Tarabina, specifically accused Sylva of using Buhari’s name in a manner similar to name-dropping, with a view to putting pressure on institutions of the Federal Government to do his bidding.

The organisation also asked Buhari “to prevail on Sylva to immediately stop using your name to promote his ambition in fraudulent ways since he did not have the permission of the President to do so.”

BSG said its intervention was a patriotic step to save the President and his reputation from being used to destroy institutions like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the military and the police as a desperate political action by the APC candidate.

Tarabina stated that as followers and key supporters of President Buhari, BSG felt highly embarrassed to see the flagrant dropping of the President’s name by Sylva to hoodwink federal officers in the state to do his bidding, particularly in attempts it said were meant to compromise the rerun election of January 9 in his favour.

“We condemn Sylva’s behavior because it amounts to fraud and a complete disservice to the office and reputation of Mr. President. Unknown to Mr. President, his name is being fraudulently used and so flagrantly to trick officials of various federal institutions like the army, police and INEC to undertake and embark on illegal duties regarding the supplementary election in Southern Ijaw slated for January 9. Sylva must stop this fraud forthwith, the President must necessarily call him to order for sanity,” he stated.

Tarabina warned that if nothing was done to check the APC candidate, his action could result in total destruction of the federal institutions.

According to him, since a nation is as strong as its institutions “efforts must be made to keep them above board at all times.”

He emphasised the need to allow the will of the people prevail at the rerun election by ensuring that the process was free, fair and credible.

Tarabina said the sort of abuses to which Sylva had subjected federal institutions ahead of the supplementary election, particularly the military and the police were “inordinate and reprehensible.”

“We therefore call on our beloved President to publicly take a stand to show to the world that he has no preferred candidate in the Bayelsa election and no one authorised to use his name to fraudulently advance any political ambition or undeservedly advance their electoral value,” BSG stated.

•Photo shows Sylva.