Former Rivers State All Progressive Congress governorship candidate, Tonye Cole, has faulted Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s alignment with what he described as an illegitimate faction of the APC in the state following the governor’s defection.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Cole insisted that the Emeka Beke–led executive remains the only legally recognised leadership of the APC in Rivers State.
Fubara formally defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in December 2025, a move that drew open endorsement from the party’s national leadership.
The governor was later presented with an APC membership card by Tony Okocha, who heads a rival faction of the party in the state.
Reacting, Cole said the governor made the “wrong” decision by associating with the Okocha-led group, stressing that such alignment has no legal standing within the party structure in Rivers.
According to him, Fubara cannot be lawfully regarded as an APC member at the state level until he identifies with the Beke-led faction.
“Who is welcoming him (Fubara) to the APC? Who is the one issuing him the membership card? Where is he registered under? Now, Tony Okocha is not a legally recognised faction of the APC, and that is where the problem is.
“Even though he (Fubara) is recognised nationally as a member of the APC, the group that has welcomed him is not legally recognised.
“He should come. We will recognise and welcome him because we have the legal standing to do so. He is not safe where he is.”
Cole, however, acknowledged that Fubara’s decision to leave the PDP and join the APC was politically astute and widely regarded as a smart move.
He also cautioned the party leadership against repeating the mistakes of the 2019 general elections, when internal disputes led to a court ruling that prevented the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising APC candidates in Rivers State.
