By Our Correspondent <\/p>\n
Following controversies surrounding the screening of aspirants for 2027 election, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has given reasons for the disqualification of 65 aspirants seeking ticket into the Rivers State House of Assembly under the party.<\/p>\n
The screening exercise which witnessed controversies had virtually all aspirants loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, disqualified for various reasons, including the factional speaker of the Assembly during the peak of the political crisis, Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo and two other serving members but still suspended by the pro-Wike led Assembly.<\/p>\n
The Rivers State chapter of the party, in a report release in Port Harcourt, and signed by it’s Publicity Secretary, Chibuike Ikenga, said the decision of the APC House of Assembly screening committee constituted by the party\u2019s National Working Committee, acted in accordance with the 1999 Constitution, the APC constitution, electoral guidelines, and other extant laws, in the two-day exercise held on May 9 and 10 in Port Harcourt. <\/p>\n
According to the statement, out of 98 aspirants screened, 33 were cleared to contest the party\u2019s primaries, while 65 were disqualified for alleged irregularities ranging from invalid documentation and non-compliance with membership requirements to bribery allegations.<\/p>\n
The committee attributed the disqualifications to nominations endorsed by non-financial party members, submission of unsworn affidavits, failure to provide voter cards and membership slips, conflicting dates of birth, irregular party membership numbers, inconsistent names and documents, and insufficient ward nominators. Invalid affidavits relating to NECO certificates were also cited.<\/p>\n
The panel noted that it received petitions from party members across the 23 local government areas challenging the eligibility of some aspirants. The petitions referenced Article 9.3 of the APC constitution, which states that only fully registered and financially compliant members are eligible to vote or be voted for in party affairs.<\/p>\n
Among aspirants cleared to contest in the APC primaries are Maol Dumle, Major Jack, Nwabochi Frankline, Ofiks Christopher, Enemi Alabo George, Tonye Smart Adoki, Tekenari Granville, Azeru Opara, Hope Ugwumadu, Kenneth Minimah, Justina Aniton Okorji, Onyema Rex Nwankwo, Jumbo Soparagha, Gift Esede Ali, Peter E. Abbey and Arnold O. Davids, among others on the list majorly loyalists of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.<\/p>\n
While those disqualified were; Sokari Goodboy Sokari, Orubibanugha Timothy, Chime Eguma Ezebulike, Tonye Briggs Oniyide, Chris Okey Ochije, Ideye Granville, Bobby Abayomi, Hon. Victor Oko Jumbo, Morris Prince Lelesi, Fubara Goodluck Ohaka, Prince Emukuighro Fubara, Chinondu Wokocha, Karibi Karibi Bobmanuel, and MacSunday Uziuke Ugwu and several others names associated with the Governor Fubara’s political structure.<\/p>\n
The committee accused Tonye Garrick Tom-George, an aspirant for Asari-Toru Constituency I, of attempting to compromise the process by presenting an envelope containing money alongside his passport photograph. The incident was reported to the police. <\/p>\n
In another incident, Hon. Victor Oko Jumbo, leader of the 3 members of the 10th Assembly loyal to Governor Fubara (but suspended), who is also on the disqualification list, allegedly tried to enter the venue with security aides, leading to a brief disagreement with police officers before order was restored.<\/p>\n
The panel, chaired by Muraina Ajibola with Ishaku Tanko Yamawo as secretary, commended most aspirants for their preparedness and loyalty to the party. It said the exercise reflected the broadening appeal of the APC in Rivers State, given the diverse professional and social backgrounds of contestants.<\/p>\n
The party directed all aspirants who purchased expression of interest and nomination forms to check their screening status at the state secretariat along the Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway. Appeals arising from the outcome will be heard on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at the APC state secretariat.<\/p>\n
The committee concluded that it carried out its assignment diligently and in substantial compliance with party guidelines, and commended party officials, administrative staff, and security agencies for ensuring a peaceful exercise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Our Correspondent Following controversies surrounding the screening of aspirants for 2027 election, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has given reasons for the disqualification of 65 aspirants seeking ticket into the Rivers State House of Assembly under the party. The screening exercise which witnessed controversies had virtually all aspirants loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, disqualified […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13514"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13515,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13514\/revisions\/13515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}