The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda, in Abuja, as controversy deepens over the screening of aspirants for the Rivers State House of Assembly elections.
The visit comes against the backdrop of mounting tension within the party in Rivers State following the outcome of the screening exercise conducted by an APC panel.
The committee, chaired by former lawmaker, Muraina Ajibola, cleared 33 aspirants and disqualified 65 others out of the 98 who purchased nomination forms for the 32 available assembly seats.
Findings by the panel indicated that many of the disqualified aspirants were affected by issues bordering on alleged inducement and attempted bribery, submission of unsworn affidavits, invalid voter cards, and absence of party membership slips.
Other infractions listed in the report included discrepancies in dates of birth, irregularities in nominators’ membership numbers, and inconsistencies in documents submitted by the aspirants.
Sources within the party disclosed that several of those disqualified are believed to be loyal to the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and a former governorship candidate, Tonye Cole, further heightening political tension in the state.
Although the agenda of Wike’s meeting with Yilwatda was not made public as of the time of filing this report, party insiders said it may not be unconnected with the growing discontent trailing the screening outcome and its potential implications for the party’s cohesion in the state.
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