Amid the ongoing power tussle in Rivers State, the former gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Cole,  has warned that the Governor of the State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, can be endangered by a faction of the party.

This is as he claimed that Governor  Fubara has associated himself with a faction of the party in the State.

Speaking in an interview on Channels Television, Cole maintained that the group led by Emeka Beke continues to represent the legitimate leadership of the APC in the state.

Saturday Telegraph recalls that in December 2025, Fubara switched allegiance from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC, a move that received public endorsement from the party’s national leadership.

Tony Okocha, the leader of a rival faction in Rivers State, later issued Fubara his APC membership card.

READ ALSO:

Commenting on the event, Tonye Cole criticised the governor’s decision, describing it as the “Wrong” choice to join the Okocha-led faction.

He added that Fubara would not be formally recognised as an APC member in the state unless he aligns with the Emeka Beke-led group.

Cole, however, acknowledged that Fubara’s move to defect from the PDP was a shrewd political strategy that has broad implications.

“Who is welcoming him (Fubara) to the APC? Who is 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 cautioned that the APC should not repeat the mistakes of the 2019 elections, when a court prevented the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the party’s candidates in Rivers State.