May 11, (THEWILL) — The Rivers State House of Assembly Screening Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), chaired by Muraina Ajibola, has concluded its screening exercise ahead of the party’s forthcoming primaries, clearing 33 aspirants while disqualifying 65 others over multiple compliance and documentation issues.
The screening exercise, which took place between May 9 and 10, involved 98 aspirants vying for the party’s tickets across various constituencies in the state.
According to the committee’s report dated May 10, only 33 aspirants met the full requirements and were cleared to proceed to the primaries, while others were found not to have complied fully with the party’s guidelines.
Jointly signed by the committee chairman, Ajibola, the secretary, Ishake Yamawe, and member Danjuma Samuel, the screening report stated that the exercise was conducted in line with the APC’s commitment to due process and credible candidate selection, adding that the outcome reflects the party’s resolve to ensure only qualified and properly documented aspirants advance to the primaries.
The committee stated that the disqualified aspirants failed to meet essential conditions stipulated for participation in the exercise, noting that the process was guided strictly by the APC’s internal regulations aimed at strengthening transparency, discipline, and internal democracy.
Among those cleared are aspirants largely associated with the political bloc aligned to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, while several aspirants linked to the camps of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and former governorship candidate Tonye Cole were among those disqualified.
The committee cited several reasons for disqualification, including alleged inducement and attempted bribery of members, submission of unsworn affidavits, failure to present valid voter cards, and absence of party membership slips or cards.
Other concerns included conflicting dates of birth, the inability of nominators to confirm payment of membership dues, irregular party membership numbers, inconsistencies in names across submitted documents, insufficient nominators per ward, and invalid affidavits that failed to properly disclose material particulars relating to NECO certificates.
Prominent among those disqualified were Chijoke Ihunwo, Victor Oko-Jumbo, Sokari Goodboy, and several others reportedly aligned with different political interests within the state chapter of the party.
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