The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has confirmed Tonye Cole as the consensus governorship aspirant.
APC said the businessman was picked after a thorough screening of 12 aspirants by 19 leaders of the party.
A statement on Monday by Chris Finebone, the Publicity Secretary, said the chieftains met last Friday.
The spokesman said the exercise took place in the absence of Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, “who declined to participate”.
“The process was an otherwise internal mechanism activated on April 22 to pick a consensus aspirant of riverine extraction for the 2023 governorship election,”
He said.
He noted that the APC has no flagbearer yet in line with APC rules and regulations and the 2022 Electoral Act.
Finebone said that the party was committed to the emergence of a governor of riverine extraction after 24 years of upland governorship.
He advised members to go about their activities with decorum “as the next four weeks are bound to be busy and packed full with political activities”.