APC Primaries: Petitions Pour In As Party Clears Uzodimma, Fubara, Alli — But Wipes Out All Fubara Loyalists From Rivers Assembly Race

The All Progressives Congress has cleared several serving governors including Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun for their respective governorship primaries, even as a torrent of petitions continued to flood the party’s screening panels and an explosive political purge unfolded in Rivers State.

Fubara’s screening exercise took place at the Plateau State Government House Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, on Sunday, May 10, 2026, where he was among three sitting governors whose credentials were verified and assessed by the committee. He has now been cleared to contest the APC governorship primary scheduled for May 21, 2026.

Fubara, who has been locked in a protracted political feud with his predecessor and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, obtained his APC Expression of Interest and Nomination forms through proxies. A coalition of Rivers APC stakeholders and elders, led by Hon. Awaji-Inombek Abiante, had earlier purchased and donated the forms to support his bid for a second term.

However, the governor was far from composed during the exercise. Reports indicated that Fubara angrily stormed out of the APC screening room and shunned journalists waiting outside for his reaction.

Rivers Assembly: All Fubara Men Out, All Wike Men In

While Fubara himself scaled the governorship screening, the picture for his political allies at the Rivers State House of Assembly level was catastrophic.

A comprehensive report by the APC Screening Committee reveals that out of 98 aspirants who appeared for the exercise on May 9 and 10, 2026, only 33 were cleared, while a staggering 65 were screened out for various alleged infractions.

Notably, all aspirants believed to be aligned with the camp of Governor Fubara were disqualified. In contrast, incumbent members of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike were cleared. Among those cleared were 28 serving lawmakers loyal to Wike, led by Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol.

Former factional Speaker Victor Oko-Jumbo, Sokari Goodboy, Timothy Orubibanugha, and Chijioke Ihunwo were among those not cleared by the committee.

The official reasons given for the mass disqualification were largely procedural. The committee cited alleged bribery attempts, submission of incomplete or unsworn documents, lack of voter identification cards, failure to present valid party membership records, inconsistent dates of birth, irregular membership details of sponsors, insufficient endorsements, and mismatched information on submitted forms.

Victor Oko-Jumbo was also accused of causing a confrontation at the screening venue after insisting on entering with security aides, before police officers restored order. Separately, an aspirant for the Asari Toru 1 constituency seat, Tonye Garrick Tom-George, was accused of attempting to bribe committee members the report claimed he handed an envelope containing cash and his passport photograph to committee members, and that the matter was reported to the police.

Fubara Camp Cries Foul

The outcome did not go unchallenged. Loyalists of Governor Fubara rejected the screening result, describing it as predetermined and a deliberate political hit job orchestrated to shut out the governor’s allies from the 2027 contest.

The Rivers State APC House of Assembly Screening Appeal Committee, chaired by Abdul Mahmud, subsequently confirmed the disqualifications. The appeal committee chairman told journalists that 19 appeals had been submitted by some of the disqualified aspirants, adding that the window for submitting further appeals would close on Wednesday.

The mass purge of aspirants linked to the Fubara camp is expected to trigger fresh legal battles and further inflame the volatile political atmosphere in Rivers State as the APC prepares for the House of Assembly elections.

Petitions Across The Board

Beyond Rivers State, the APC’s national screening exercise was accompanied by a wave of petitions targeting aspirants in multiple states, with party members raising concerns about pending criminal cases, forged certificates, and undisclosed court proceedings against several individuals seeking the party’s ticket for various offices.

The APC National Screening Committee acknowledged receiving petitions against some aspirants from concerned persons but said that those cleared had presented complete and satisfactory documentation, even as discrepancies observed in some submissions were duly noted.

The APC governorship primary for Rivers State remains scheduled for May 21, 2026, with the general election fixed for February 6, 2027.