Former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Rivers State, Tonye Cole, has warned that Governor Siminalayi Fubara cannot be regarded as a legitimate member of the APC in the state.
Speaking on Channels Television, Cole argued that Fubara aligned himself with the wrong faction of the party.
Naija News reports that Fubara defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in December 2025, a move that was publicly endorsed by the party’s national leadership. He was later issued an APC membership card by Tony Okocha, who heads one of the party’s factions in Rivers State.
However, Cole maintained that the Emeka Beke-led group remains the authentic leadership of the APC in Rivers, insisting that the governor made the wrong decision by joining the Okocha faction.
According to Cole, Fubara cannot be lawfully recognised as an APC member in Rivers State unless he aligns with the Beke-led faction, which he described as the legitimate structure of the party.
Despite this, Cole acknowledged that Fubara’s defection from the PDP was a strategic political move.
“Who welcomed him into the APC? Who issued him a membership card? Where exactly is he registered?” Cole asked. “Tony Okocha does not lead a legally recognised faction of the APC, and that is the core of the problem.
“Although he is recognised nationally as an APC member, the group that received him is not legally recognised. He should come to us, and we will properly welcome him because we have the legal standing to do so. Where he is now, he is not safe.”
Cole also cautioned the APC against repeating the 2019 election crisis, when a court decision prevented the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the party’s candidates in Rivers State.