Rivers APC Voids Wike Allies’ Tickets, Deepening State Political Crisis

PORT HARCOURT — The reinstated Rivers State APC leadership has voided the primary election tickets of all lawmakers and political candidates aligned with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. Legit.ng confirmed the development on Monday. The action represents a dramatic escalation of the political crisis in the state following President Tinubu’s lifting of the state of emergency.

The Rivers APC, which was reconstituted under a court order that voided Wike’s preferred leadership structure, said it does not recognise the primary results that produced Wike-aligned candidates. It said those primaries were conducted under an illegitimate party structure and therefore the tickets they generated have no validity.

The action affects multiple legislative and local government candidates who participated in primaries conducted under the Wike-aligned Rivers APC faction. Several of those candidates have expressed outrage and said they will seek court orders to restore their tickets.

A State Still in Crisis

The voiding of Wike allies’ tickets shows that the lifting of the state of emergency has not resolved Rivers State’s fundamental political crisis. Two factions of the APC both claim legitimacy. Governor Fubara’s PDP administration is trying to govern amid ongoing legislative and party structure disputes. And Wike’s federal ministerial position gives him resources and leverage that make him difficult to sideline.

A senior APC chieftain in Rivers said the party must ultimately decide whether it wants unity or continued civil war. He said voiding opponents’ tickets satisfies factional interests in the short term but does nothing to build a party structure that can win the 2027 governorship election.

INEC said it is monitoring the Rivers APC situation. The commission said it will only recognise candidates from primaries that were conducted by the legitimate party structure as determined by the courts. Any legal uncertainty about which APC structure is legitimate will affect which candidates INEC accepts from the party’s Rivers State exercises.