The All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has cleared 33 aspirants to contest the party’s primaries for the 2027 House of Assembly election, with loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, dominating the list.
A report released by the party’s State House of Assembly Screening Committee after a two-day exercise in Port Harcourt showed that 65 aspirants failed to scale through the screening conducted on Saturday and Sunday.
Among those cleared were all 29 serving lawmakers in the Assembly aligned with Wike and led by the Deputy Speaker, Dumle Maol.
The report also indicated that the Speaker of the Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, had opted to seek a seat in the House of Representatives and did not participate in the Assembly screening.
The committee reportedly screened 98 aspirants in total but disqualified all 32 aspirants said to be loyal to Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, including former factional Speaker, Victor Oko-Jumbo, and lawmakers Sokari Goodboy and Timothy Orubienimigha.
The report, signed by committee chairman Rt. Hon. Muraina Ajibola and three other members, stated that the exercise was conducted in a transparent and orderly manner. It added that aspirants generally conducted themselves peacefully throughout the process.
“The Committee discharged its mandate with diligence, fairness, transparency, and fidelity to the democratic ideals and progressive principles of the Party,” the report stated.
The committee, however, accused Oko-Jumbo of causing tension at the venue after allegedly insisting on entering the screening centre with security aides. It said police officers on duty eventually restored calm, allowing the exercise to continue uninterrupted.
It also disclosed that an aspirant for the Asari Toru 1 constituency seat, Tonye Garrick Tom-George, was handed over to the police for allegedly attempting to bribe committee members with cash concealed in an envelope alongside his passport photograph.
According to the report, several aspirants were disqualified over issues ranging from invalid documentation and irregular party membership details to failure to present voter cards and incomplete nomination requirements. The committee maintained that the exercise complied substantially with the APC constitution and screening guidelines.