THE Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied allegations that aspirants loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, were favoured during the screening process for House of Assembly candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking at the party’s secretariat in Port Harcourt, the APC Publicity Secretary, Chibuike Ikenga, dismissed the claims as misleading and baseless.
He stressed that Wike is not a member of the APC and therefore had no influence over the screening exercise.
Ikenga acknowledged that Wike had publicly supported President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid, but insisted that connecting him to the outcome of the screening process was unfair and inaccurate.
According to the party spokesman, the exercise was conducted peacefully and transparently.
He revealed that out of 98 aspirants screened, 33 were cleared while 65 failed to secure clearance.
He further explained that the party established an appeal committee to handle complaints from dissatisfied aspirants, noting that the process had remained orderly and uninterrupted.
The Chairman of the Appeal Committee, Abdul Mahmud, confirmed that the panel received the full report of the screening exercise, including the names of aspirants who were cleared and those who were not.
Mahmud stated that the committee had been reviewing petitions submitted by affected aspirants and would conclude its assignment on May 13, 2026.
He added that some aspirants who failed to provide required documents during the initial screening had been given another opportunity to submit them before the appeal process closes.
He also stressed that the committee relied heavily on documentary evidence rather than oral explanations, noting that all decisions were based on the documents presented before the panel.
One of the aspirants for the Andoni Constituency, Gogo Friday, criticised the party for allegedly failing to officially explain why he was not cleared despite purchasing nomination forms and participating in the screening.
According to him, the committee cited unpaid party dues by some of his nominators and inconsistencies in the names on some of his documents as reasons that affected his clearance.
Another aspirant contesting for Obio/Akpor Constituency II, Atuzie Collins, said he was initially denied clearance because of a spelling discrepancy on his voter’s card.
Collins explained that he had already sworn an affidavit to correct the error, insisting that the issue should not have been enough to disqualify him from the process.
