There is confusion in Rivers State over the report of last weekend’s screening exercise for the state House of Assembly aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Daily Trust had reported 65 out of the 98 aspirants who obtained the party’s nomination forms for the forthcoming primaries, were disqualified.

Majority of those screened out were loyalists of Governor Siminalayi Fubara while allies of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, were cleared for the primaries.

The report of the screening committee was signed by the chairman, Rt. Hon. Muraina Ajibola, and three other members.

Publicity Secretary of the APC in Rivers, Chubike Ikenga, had circulated copies of the report, which was obtained by Daily Trust.

But after the announcement by the state leadership of APC that the report has been submitted by the panel, the Secretary of the Screening Committee, Hon. Tanko Yamowa, disclaimed the purported report, describing it as false, unauthorized.

Yamowa said that the screening exercise was conducted by the committee less than 24 hours ago, and no official list had been released by the party.

He said: “The attention of the party leadership has been drawn to the circulation of a purported list of cleared and uncleared aspirants for the Rivers State House of Assembly currently making rounds across various media platforms.

“We wish to categorically state that the said publication is false, unauthorized, and does not emanate from the appropriate party authorities.

“It is important to note that the screening exercise conducted by the committee headed by Mauriana Ajibola was concluded less than 24 hours ago, and no official list has been released by the party at this time.

“As a responsible political party, we are guided by established procedures, rules, and timelines regarding the publication of screening results and related information. Any official communication concerning the status of aspirants will be communicated through the appropriate channels in due course.

“We therefore urge party faithful, aspirants, supporters, and the general public to disregard the purported list and treat it as the handiwork of mischief makers whose intention is to create confusion and unnecessary tension within the party.

“The party remains committed to transparency, fairness, and due process throughout the entire exercise.”

When Daily Trust contacted Ikenga to clarify why the report he sent earlier was being disputed, Ikenga accused Yamowa of spreading falsehood.

He maintained that Fubara loyalists were disqualified and counseled them to approach the party’s appeal panel to challenge their disqualification.

He said: “Which statement did the man (Yamowa) issue? That is fake news; the report is out, if you read our statement, we said tomorrow is the day they can make the appeal to the appeal committee, they can approach the appeal committee tomorrow from the national to the state secretariat of the party to challenge their disqualification.

“The correspondence has to go to the state secretary of the party, indicating their interest to appeal their lack of clearance or whatever it is.”

The misunderstanding between Fubara and Wike is playing out in the buildup to the 2027 elections.

Wike and his political family have reportedly perfected plans to unseat Governor Fubara.

Meanwhile, the opposition party in the state, including the ADC and NDC, are leveraging on the crisis in APC to launch a bid to capture Bayelsa. (Daily Trust)