Rivers APC crisis deepens as reinstated leadership nullifies party primaries, rejects Chinda’s nomination

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, led by Chief Emeka Beke, has declared all nominations and outcomes from the party’s recently concluded primaries in the state null and void.

The development throws the party into fresh uncertainty after the primaries produced Kingsley Chinda, an ally of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, as the APC governorship candidate following the withdrawal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

In a statement issued on Monday by the faction’s spokesman, Darlington Nwauju, the reinstated leadership said the decision followed a Court of Appeal judgment that upheld the nullification of congresses that produced Chief Tony Okocha as Rivers APC chairman.

According to Nwauju, all actions, communications, nominations, and decisions carried out on behalf of the APC in Rivers State between December 20, 2024, and May 29, 2026, have no legal standing.

The faction argued that individuals who conducted the primaries and represented the party during the period lacked legal authority to do so, making all outcomes invalid.

The group also called on the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) to withdraw certificates of return issued to candidates produced by the Okocha-led faction during the local government elections and recognise candidates submitted by the Emeka Beke-led executive.

Nwauju warned the APC National Working Committee to urgently review all primaries conducted in the state to avoid a repeat of the political crisis that previously cost the party electoral victories in Zamfara State.

He maintained that all records, nominations, declarations and returns linked to the nullified leadership should be expunged from APC records nationwide.

The latest development deepens the leadership crisis within the Rivers APC and raises fresh questions over the validity of candidates produced during the disputed primaries ahead of the 2027 elections.