The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda, has declared Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the leader of the party in Rivers State.
Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Hard Copy’ programme, Yilwatda explained that it is the practice of the APC to recognise serving governors as leaders of the party in their respective states. He, however, emphasised that Governor Fubara must work with other stakeholders to ensure inclusion and effective coordination within the party.
“Governor Fubara is the leader of the APC in Rivers State, but he would need to coordinate with every other person in the state,” Yilwatda said.
“In all the states, we have the state governors lead the parties in their respective states. In APC, we give them that privilege, but we also ask the governors to ensure inclusion — to coordinate and carry everyone along.”
Responding to questions of whether the party would support Fubara if he wants to run for a second term in office, the APC national chairman drew parallels with similar instances in other states, citing the example of Ekiti State, where the sitting governor had to go through the party’s primary process like any other aspirant before emerging as the flagbearer.
“We did primaries in Ekiti State and the governor contested with others before he emerged as the APC candidate. The same rule applies to every state — even Governor Fubara will have to go through the normal process if he seeks the ticket,” he noted.
