Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State have disagreed over the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to list Hon. Kingsley Chinda as the party’s candidate for the 2027 governorship election.
The development has exposed divisions within the Rivers APC, with some party stakeholders arguing that the state remains too politically important for the ruling party to risk losing, while another faction insists that Chinda’s candidacy is not recognised by the party’s leadership.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP in Port Harcourt, APC chieftain Chief Oby Ndukwe said the party understands the strategic importance of Rivers State because of its voting strength.
According to Ndukwe, Rivers State ranks fifth in terms of voting strength, making it a crucial political battleground for the APC ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
“The truth is that even the APC itself knows that it cannot lose Rivers State. Rivers State is vital to the APC, particularly when it comes to the fact that Rivers State is the fifth highest in terms of voting strength,” she said.
Ndukwe questioned why the APC would undermine Rivers State and the Rainbow Coalition, which she described as a platform bringing together supporters across political party lines.
She explained that the Rainbow Coalition does not necessarily involve illegal or illegitimate political activities but rather represents cooperation among individuals supporting candidates regardless of their party affiliations.
According to her, some candidates associated with the coalition belong to the APC, while others are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party.
“There are candidates, under the Rainbow Coalition, who are of the APC, there are those who are of the PDP and there are those who are of the Labour Party,” Ndukwe said.
Rainbow Coalition Stakeholder Reacts to INEC’s Candidate List
Also speaking with LEADERSHIP, former member of the House of Representatives and Rainbow Coalition chieftain, Hon. Ogbonna Nwuke, said INEC’s publication of the list of qualified candidates indicated that Rivers voters were preparing to choose their preferred candidates.
Nwuke described the release of the list as part of the electoral commission’s responsibilities ahead of the forthcoming election.
He said the publication would enable candidates to intensify their campaigns and communicate their programmes and political intentions to voters.
“I think INEC has fulfilled one of its responsibilities as we approach the forthcoming election,” Nwuke said.
He added that the appearance of candidates’ names on the list would allow them to explain their plans to the electorate more directly.
“Now that their names are out, they will be able to hit the ground and explain their mission to the people, the voters,” he said.
Rivers APC Faction Rejects Kingsley Chinda’s Candidacy
However, the spokesman of the Chief Emeka Beke-led faction of the APC in Rivers State, Comrade Darlington Nwauju, rejected the position that Chinda should be recognised as the party’s governorship candidate.
Nwauju said the faction does not recognise Chinda’s candidacy, citing a recent Court of Appeal judgment and an earlier legal dispute over the party’s leadership in the state.
He accused individuals opposed to the Beke-led faction of attempting to undermine the party’s recognised executives, drawing parallels with political developments surrounding the APC in Rivers State in 2019.
“Their hypocrisy and inconsistency is already well advertised before Rivers people and we are only saying that consistently we have chosen the path of the rule of law to make our own arguments,” Nwauju said.
He further referenced Appeal No. CA/PH/523/2024, arguing that those challenging the party’s recognised leadership had not succeeded in overturning the judgment delivered by Justice Godswill Obomanu.
According to Nwauju, the faction would not immediately announce its next course of action regarding INEC’s listing of Chinda.
He said the state executives under Chief Emeka Beke would review the situation before making an official response.
“It is not therefore in our character to trumpet what steps to take in the case of Kingsley Chinda with regard to INEC recognising him as a candidate,” he said.
Nwauju added that the faction would communicate its position after reviewing its activities and the legal issues surrounding the matter.
Rivers Governorship Race Ahead of 2027
The disagreement over Chinda’s listing highlights the political divisions within the Rivers APC as preparations for the 2027 governorship election continue.
While Ndukwe emphasised the importance of retaining Rivers State and defended cross-party cooperation through the Rainbow Coalition, Nwuke welcomed INEC’s publication of the candidates’ list as an opportunity for voters to assess their options.
The Beke-led faction, however, maintains that Chinda is not its recognised candidate and says it will determine its response after further consultations.
The dispute leaves the question of the APC’s candidate contested among the party stakeholders quoted in the report, with the factional disagreement and the cited legal proceedings likely to remain central to the party’s preparations for the Rivers governorship election.