“Wike Is Not Our Member” — Rivers APC Denies Favouring FCT Minister’s Loyalists

The All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has dismissed allegations that loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, were favoured during the screening of House of Assembly aspirants ahead of the party’s primaries.

The party described the claims as false and politically motivated. It insisted that the screening process was transparent and conducted without external interference.

Speaking at the APC secretariat in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the party’s Publicity Secretary, Chibuike Ikenga, said reports linking Wike to the outcome of the exercise were misleading.

Ikenga maintained that the former Rivers governor is not a registered member of the APC and therefore had no role in determining who was cleared or disqualified during the exercise.

According to him, attempts to connect Wike with the screening process were unfair to the party and its screening committee.

“Wike is not a member of our party, and so has no hand in our screening process. The allegation of being biased in the screening process is misleading and unfair,” he said.

The APC spokesman noted that although the FCT minister had publicly declared support for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, such political support should not be interpreted as involvement in the internal affairs of the Rivers APC.

Ikenga explained that the screening exercise was carried out peacefully and in line with the party’s guidelines. He disclosed that 33 aspirants were cleared by the committee, while 65 others failed to scale through the process.

He added that the party had already constituted an appeal committee to entertain petitions from dissatisfied aspirants.

According to him, the appeal process has continued smoothly, with no disruption recorded at the party secretariat.