Confusion has gripped Rivers State over screening results for House of Assembly candidates seeking the All Progressives Congress ticket. A reported list showing 65 of 98 aspirants were rejected has sparked fierce disagreement.
Daily Trust earlier reported that most candidates aligned with Governor Siminalayi Fubara faced disqualification. Those backing Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike appeared to have sailed through the screening.
Chubike Ikenga, the APC's Rivers publicity secretary, shared copies of the screening panel's report last weekend. The document carried signatures from panel chairman Rt.
Hon. Muraina Ajibola and three other members.
But the narrative shifted dramatically when party leadership announced the report's submission. Hon.
Tanko Yamowa, the screening committee's secretary, immediately challenged its authenticity.
Yamowa dismissed the circulating list as false and unauthorized. He stressed the screening had concluded less than 24 hours before his statement.
"The said publication is false, unauthorized, and does not emanate from the appropriate party authorities," he declared. Yamowa added that no official results had been released by party officials.
According to him, the APC follows established procedures for releasing screening outcomes. Any formal announcements about aspirants' status would come through proper party channels, he noted.
Yamowa urged party members and the public to ignore the leaked list entirely. He described it as the work of troublemakers bent on sowing discord within the party.
When Daily Trust reached out to Ikenga for comment, he fired back at Yamowa. Ikenga branded the secretary's denial as spreading falsehoods.
The publicity chief maintained his original position on the disqualifications. He told rejected aspirants, particularly Fubara's supporters, to petition the appeals committee.
"That is fake news; the report is out," Ikenga told reporters when asked about Yamowa's statement. He instructed those disqualified to submit written appeals to party leadership at state and national levels.
Candidates wishing to challenge their rejection should direct formal correspondence to the state secretary, Ikenga explained. Only this route would allow them to contest their clearance status, he insisted.
The bitter disagreement reflects deeper tensions between Nigeria's political heavyweights. Fubara and Wike, once allies, have drifted into open rivalry ahead of 2027 elections.
These tensions are now playing out within party structures at the grassroots level. The APC's internal divisions in Rivers appear far from resolution as primary contests loom.
