By Ayo Kehinde
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has cleared aspirants loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for the party’s senatorial primaries in Rivers State, while several prominent figures believed to be aligned with Governor Siminalayi Fubara were screened out ahead of the 2027 elections.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Rivers APC Publicity Secretary, Chibike Ikenga, the party confirmed that Senator Ipalibo Banigo, representing Rivers West Senatorial District, was not cleared to participate in the primaries.
Also disqualified was former Secretary to the Rivers State Government and key Fubara ally, Chief Dr Tammy Wenike Danagogo.
Businessman and former presidential aspirant, Tein Jack-Rich, was equally screened out by the party.
However, aspirants widely believed to be loyal to Wike successfully scaled through the screening exercise.
Among those cleared were Felix Amechi Obuah for Rivers West Senatorial District, as well as Allwell Onyesoh and Chief Barry Balera Mwara for Rivers South-East Senatorial District.
The development is being interpreted in political circles as a major setback for Governor Fubara’s loyalists seeking to secure influence within the APC ahead of the next general elections.
As of the time of filing this report, there had been no official reaction from Governor Fubara’s camp regarding the screening outcome.
