The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, has said Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, is the political leader of the party in the state.
Morka, however, said the authority to manage the party’s elections and primaries rests with the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC, not governors.
NewsWatch Nigeria reports that the APC spokesman stated this on Friday while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Morka said the political season had triggered several claims, some of which he described as speculative and false.
He said, “This is a political season, and it’s a season of a lot of talk, sometimes unfounded, speculative, and sometimes outright false.
“You can’t stop it. My advice is to slow down and let the process work so that, at the end of the day, we can have an outcome that is credible and acceptable to everybody.”
The APC spokesman said governors remain leaders of the party in their respective states.
He said, “The leader of the party is the governor of Rivers State. The governor is the leader of our party in all the states, not just in Rivers State.”
Morka explained that while governors are recognised as party leaders in their states, they do not have the power to conduct APC primaries.
He said, “However, when it comes to elections, there is only one authority that has the power to manage elections, and that is the National Working Committee of the party.
“It has the authority to conduct the primaries and not the governors. The governors have never conducted any election for our party.”
‘No Governor Controls APC Primary’
Morka said the APC has constitutional organs responsible for managing its internal processes.
He added, “There is a political party called the APC with its constitutional organs, especially the NWC, which is the primary manager of elections.
“No governor is in control of our primary process. The party is in control of its process, and all of the committees, like we have set up in Rivers State and other states, are busy doing their jobs and reporting back to the national headquarters.”
