The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, has clarified that the Governor of Rivers, Siminalayi Fubara, is the leader of the party in the state.
Yilwatda made the clarification on Friday night while speaking on Channels Television’s news and current affairs programme, Hard Copy.
According to the APC National Chairman, the position is clearly provided for in the APC Constitution, which recognizes governors of party-controlled states as leaders of the party in their respective states without exception.
“In all the states, we have the state governors that lead the party in their respective states,” he said.
He, however, emphasized that governors are encouraged to carry all stakeholders along, a commitment Governor Fubara has already made and is already demonstrating in Rivers State.
“At the same time, we tell the governors who have leaders at the national level to respect inclusion,” he added.
On the issue of Governor Fubara’s second-term bid, Yilwatda stated that the APC would support and work for the governor’s re-election if he emerges as the party’s candidate through the primary process, a process that can only be determined by duly accredited party delegates.
“If Siminalayi emerges as the candidate of the APC in Rivers State, I will stand by him,” he said.
His statement comes amid speculations about who the leader of the party is in Rivers State.
Fubara joined the APC in December, saying he was leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to support President Bola Tinubu.
“The reason why we are still standing is because of that place, and the truth is, without Mr President, there wouldn’t be any His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara; it would have been the former governor.
“So, we have every reason because the truth, let nobody be fooled in this state, we have the people, we have the supporters. Our only thank-you to Mr President is to support him, and we cannot support the President in isolation;
“We cannot support the President if we don’t fully identify with him, not backyard support. So, we have taken that decision today since we have gotten the pass. Everyone here who had followed me, who had suffered with me, our decision today, this evening, we are moving to APC,” Fubara said.
