In what appears to be a fresh political storm for Sim Fubara, the former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Tonye Cole has warned the governor may miss the 2027 governorship election for joining the APC faction he called illegal.
Fubara left the troubled Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in December 2025 amid fierce political struggles with his predecessor, who’s the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
But Cole, who appeared on Channels TV, argued that the governor joined the faction that’s being led by Wike’s political associate, Tony Okocha, who presented him with his APC membership card, which he described as illegal.
To Cole, the Emeka Beke-led Rivers APC is the authentic faction of Rivers APC and any association with the Okocha-led faction means Fubara will not be the APC candidate in 2027.
He declared, “I remain the leader of the APC in Rivers state,” explaining, “The reason is very simple. There is a legal case, which was instituted by the APC (faction) that elected me as a candidate of the party.
“That is the Emeka Beke-led faction case. That case was won in court, and the faction was recognised as the APC leadership. That is legal. I stand on that,” he added.
According to him, “Every other person who claims to be chairman or leader of APC, unless they come under that faction, doesn’t exist as far as the law is concerned.”
He wondered, “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 asserted.
“He should come,” he said, assuring, “We will recognise and welcome him because we have the legal standing to do so. He is not safe where he is.”
The former governorship candidate warned the APC to avoid a repeat of the 2023 experience when the court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognise the party’s candidates in the state.
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