THE ruling All Progressives Congress appears to have opened the political space in Rivers State, with indications that the party is positioning a leader of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to play a decisive role in producing the party’s governorship candidate ahead of the 2027 elections.
News Point Nigeria reports that the development follows a closely watched screening exercise in which key ministerial allies, including former House of Representatives Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, and the Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Alabo Dakorinama George Kelly, were assessed by a screening committee chaired by APC Deputy National Chairman, Benjamin Nwoye.
However, credible party sources familiar with the matter disclosed on Sunday that tension briefly trailed the process as Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, allegedly received what they described as a “cold shoulder” from the governorship screening committee led by APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda.
One of our correspondents, who was at the Plateau State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, venue of the screening exercise on Sunday, observed that Fubara stormed out of the venue following the alleged cold reception from the Yilwatda-led committee.
Reacting to the development, APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, who chaired the committee in the absence of Yilwatda, disclosed that reports of the screening exercise would be released soon.
The APC had commenced the sale of its Expression of Interest and Nomination forms on April 28, with the exercise ending at midnight on May 6.
Screening of serving governors seeking re-election or contesting other elective positions began on May 8 and concluded on May 10.
The party fixed May 11 for the release of screening reports, while screening appeals are expected to hold on May 12 and 13.
The APC had earlier adopted both consensus arrangements and direct primaries in line with the Electoral Act 2025.
The primaries are scheduled to hold in phases, beginning with the House of Representatives on May 15, followed by the Senate on May 18, State Houses of Assembly on May 20, governorship on May 21, and the presidential primary on May 23. Appeal committees are expected to sit after each stage to resolve disputes arising from the exercises.
Also, the Independent National Electoral Commission fixed the presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.
INEC also stated that political parties are to conduct their primaries and resolve all related disputes between April 23 and May 30, 2026.
According to the commission, campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections will begin on August 19, 2026, while campaigns for governorship and State Assembly elections are scheduled to commence on September 9, 2026.
Since the commencement of the screening exercise, the committee led by Yilwatda, tasked with screening governors seeking re-election as well as those aspiring to contest senatorial seats, has screened several state governors.
Those screened include Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, Nasir Idris of Kebbi State, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, and Hyacinth Alia of Benue State.
Others include Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State and Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State.
The committee also screened Umar Bago of Niger State, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, Bassey Otu of Cross River State, and Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State, among others.
However, the Governor of Rivers State was notably absent from the screening exercise on Friday and Saturday but appeared on Sunday, spending about seven minutes with the screening committee.
Fubara has been embroiled in a political conflict for close to three years with his predecessor, Wike, over control of political structures in the oil-rich state.
The governor reportedly obtained the APC governorship Expression of Interest and Nomination forms through a proxy, contrary to Wike’s preference.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory had previously described Fubara as a betrayer and had, on several occasions, vowed that he would not be allowed to return for a second term as governor.
Wike, a factional national leader of the PDP, is believed to control both PDP and APC structures in Rivers State through an arrangement he described as a “Rainbow Coalition,” and has pledged that his group will produce Fubara’s successor.
Fubara arrived at the Plateau Governor’s Lodge for the screening at about 3:15 p.m. on Sunday but left the screening room in less than 10 minutes and proceeded directly to his unnumbered SUV parked at the entrance of the venue.
When approached by journalists to comment on how the exercise went, the governor, who appeared visibly moody, simply replied: “No comment.”
One of the sources confirmed to our reporter that Chinda and Kelly were screened without any controversy, as both men are considered loyalists of Wike.
“Chinda and Kelly appeared before the screening committee. The screening exercise for the two Rivers State governorship aspirants was, from all indications, hitch-free. In Abuja, they presented their credentials and answered questions like other aspirants. The process was smooth, as both men are loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike,” the source said.
“The two were not previously members of the All Progressives Congress but only recently joined after defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party. They were directed by Wike to obtain the APC governorship forms.
“Fubara also appeared before the screening committee, but his session was different. He was given a cold shoulder during the process. The party’s national chairman, who ordinarily would preside over the screening of governors seeking re-election or governors who are senatorial aspirants, was notably absent.
“Although other committee members conducted the exercise, Fubara’s screening was strangely very brief, the shortest among all governors screened.
“I am aware he was asked a few questions, but from the body language of our people and the nature of the interaction, you will know that they are not aligned with him, partly due to his strained relationship with his predecessor, Wike, who now enjoys the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and even the APC leadership.
“The APC national leadership has given the minister control of the party structure in Rivers State, and that is what the Presidency wants. With that arrangement, either Chinda, Kelly, or any other candidate endorsed by Wike would emerge as the party’s governorship candidate. This screening is a pointer to that fact, as the aspirants are dominated by his men.”
Speaking after the exercise, Basiru stated that the committee’s report would be released after the conclusion of the screening process.
“Every aspirant must appear before the screening committee; of course, it is necessary as part of the process. After the exercise, the screening committee will issue its report,” he said.
“As at now, the screening committee, when it has completed seeing everybody it is supposed to see, will now sit down and come up with a report on the screening. As at now, there is no report from the screening committee.”
Efforts by our correspondent to reach APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, and his deputy, Duro Meseko, were unsuccessful as they did not respond to calls at the time of filing this report.
Responding to inquiries from News Point Nigeria, an aide to Fubara denied suggestions that the governor was slighted during the exercise, insisting that he did not spend much time with the committee because he was immediately cleared.
“The governor has been cleared. There was nothing much to ask him, you know, as an incumbent governor. So, he was immediately cleared and asked to take a bow and go,” the aide, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorised to comment publicly, stated.
When asked why the governor appeared unhappy and declined to speak to journalists after the exercise, the aide added: “Everyone has the right to speak or not to speak to the press, and there is nothing wrong with that. What is important is that the governor has been cleared by the committee.”