THE All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has released the final report of its House of Assembly screening exercise, with loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, emerging as the dominant group among the cleared aspirants.
The two-day screening exercise, conducted at the party secretariat in Port Harcourt over the weekend, saw 98 aspirants appear before the committee.
Out of the total number screened, only 33 aspirants were cleared to participate in the APC primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections, while 65 others were disqualified.
Among those cleared were all 29 serving lawmakers in the Rivers State House of Assembly aligned with Wike and led by Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol.
The Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, was reportedly said to have obtained a nomination form to contest for a seat in the House of Representatives.
In contrast, all 32 aspirants reportedly backed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara failed to secure clearance. Those disqualified included former factional Speaker Victor Oko-Jumbo, lawmakers Sokari Goodboy and Timothy Orubibinagha, as well as another ally of the governor, Chijioke Ihunwo.
The four-member screening committee, chaired by Rt. Hon. Muraina Ajibola, stated in its report that the process was conducted transparently and in line with the democratic principles of the party.
According to the report, the screening exercise remained largely peaceful except for an incident involving Victor Oko-Jumbo, who allegedly attempted to enter the venue with security aides, resulting in a disagreement with police officers stationed at the location before calm was restored.
The committee also disclosed that an aspirant identified as Tonye Garrick Tom-George allegedly attempted to bribe committee members by presenting an envelope containing money alongside his passport photograph. The matter was reportedly handed over to the police for investigation.
Explaining the reasons behind the disqualification of several aspirants, the committee cited issues such as invalid or incomplete documentation, failure to provide voter cards or party membership evidence, inconsistencies in personal records, insufficient nominators, and alleged inducement of committee members.
The committee maintained that the screening process was carried out in substantial compliance with the APC constitution and guidelines, adding that all cleared aspirants met the necessary requirements to contest in the party primaries for the Rivers State House of Assembly elections.
