The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Screening Committee for Rivers State has declared Kingsley Chinda as the party’s governorship candidate for the state.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Chinda was declared the winner on Thursday evening at the APC secretariat after the collation of results from wards across the 23 local government areas of Rivers State.
Announcing the result, the Chairman of the Screening Committee, Bitrus Kwamoti, said Chinda polled 268,497 votes to emerge victorious.
Kwamoti described the primary election as peaceful and successful. He commended party members for their conduct throughout the exercise, saying the process was concluded without major incident.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that the declaration followed the withdrawal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara from the APC governorship primary scheduled for Thursday.
Fubara announced his withdrawal in a statement personally signed by him on Wednesday night.
The governor said the decision was taken after extensive consultations with his family members, friends and political associates. He added that he would fully support whoever emerged as the party’s gubernatorial candidate.
Tonye Cole Steps Down
Another governorship aspirant, Tonye Cole, also withdrew from the APC primary. Cole announced his decision in a statement issued on Wednesday, May 20.
According to him, the overriding interest of peace, reconciliation, and the supremacy of the party informed his decision to step down from the race.