Fubara loyalists screened out as Rivers APC clears 33 for House seats

​It has been confirmed that all House of Assembly aspirants believed to be loyal to Siminalayi Fubara, Rivers State governor, have been screened out by the All Progressives Congress (APC). Confirmation of the development came on Tuesday when the aspirants appeared at the party’s State House of Assembly Screening Appeal Committee for Rivers State.

​The Appeal Committee confirmed on Tuesday that 33 aspirants were cleared for the party’s primaries, while 65 were disqualified. Abdul Mahmud, Chairman of the Appeal Committee, made this known while receiving petitions from disqualified aspirants.

​So far, petitions have been received from 19 disqualified aspirants, among whom is Victor Oko-Jumbo, former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Oko-Jumbo and the 18 other aspirants for seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly were disqualified by the party’s Screening Committee, which sat in Port Harcourt on Saturday and Sunday.

​The screening committee had cleared 33 aspirants out of the 98 that appeared before it. Despite claims of a peaceful conduct by aspirants, the committee, led by Muraina Ajibola, disqualified 65 of them, said to be loyal to Siminalayi Fubara, while clearing 33 loyal to Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
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​Tension followed the publication of the results on Monday, May 11, 2026. BusinessDay gathered that the window for submission of petitions challenging this disqualification closes on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.

​The 19 appeals so far received by the panel centre on allegations of administrative bias, anti-party activities, and technical documentation errors made by the screening committee. The outcome of the Appeal panel will determine the final list of aspirants cleared to participate in the APC State House of Assembly primaries scheduled for May 21, 2026.

​Chibike Ikenga, APC’s Rivers State Publicity Secretary, said in a release on May 10, 2026, that he had informed party members of the outcome of the initial screening exercise. He requested all aspirants to cross-check their statuses on the notice board at the State party secretariat in Port Harcourt.