The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has confirmed the authenticity of the screening committee report that cleared 33 aspirants and disqualified 65 others ahead of the party’s primaries for the 2027 general elections.
The confirmation was made on Monday by the APC Publicity Secretary in Rivers State, Chibike Ikenga, during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
The development follows the release of the party’s screening results, which showed that only 33 aspirants were approved to participate in the primaries, while 65 failed to secure clearance.
Among those reportedly disqualified were 32 aspirants believed to be loyal to Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
Speaking on the matter, Ikenga stated that he was fully aware of the screening process and had earlier issued a press statement on the outcome.
“I am fully in the know of this. In fact, I made a press release about this yesterday,” he said.
He explained that the information circulating in the media was based on the official report submitted by the screening committee established by the Rivers State House of Assembly.
According to him, he monitored the exercise closely from start to finish at the party secretariat.
“I was at the state party Secretariat with the screening committee from the very first day they came until they finished. I was there, so I can speak authoritatively on this,” Ikenga added.
However, the APC spokesman distanced himself from reports alleging that Governor Fubara stormed out of the screening venue in Abuja, saying he could not verify the claim.
“I was hearing that the governor actually stormed out of the screening committee. I’m not aware of this, and I can’t make news with this because I’m not sure,” he said.
Ikenga maintained that he would only speak on issues directly confirmed by those involved in the screening exercise.
