Middle Belt Youth Forum Condemns Disqualification of Tein Jack-Rich, Urges APC to Reverse Decision

By Gambo Jagindi
May 16, 2026

The Middle Belt Patriotic Youth Front (MBPYF) has criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial screening committee for disqualifying Engr. Tein Jack-Rich from the Rivers West senatorial race, calling the decision “insensitive, callous and anti-democratic.”

In a statement issued on Saturday, the group said it learned of the development “with utmost shock and bewilderment,” arguing that the move undermines internal democracy within the ruling party.

MBPYF described Jack-Rich as a long-standing party member and philanthropist whose contributions to the APC and to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda are significant.

“Engr. T.S. Tein Jack-Rich, President and Founder of Belema Oil Limited and former Presidential aspirant, has made contributions to the APC as a party, to the government in power, and to democracy as a whole that have endeared him to many party faithfuls not just in Rivers State but across Nigeria and the world over,” the group stated.

The forum urged the APC national leadership to reconsider and reverse the disqualification, warning that the decision has not gone down well with party members and supporters nationwide.

It also called on President Tinubu to intervene, saying the president’s democratic credentials place him in a position to ensure due process is followed.

“We call on President Tinubu, as an astute democrat, to intervene and ensure that the proper thing is done by allowing the people of Rivers East senatorial district to decide who represents them at the Red Chamber, which is their inalienable right as guaranteed by our constitution and the electoral law,” the statement read.

The youth group warned that excluding loyal members from the electoral process could weaken party cohesion ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The statement was signed by Hon. Bagudu Joseph, National President, and Hon. Bishop Kanetapwa Douglas, National Secretary of the Middle Belt Patriotic Youth Front.

Jack-Rich, a businessman and former APC presidential aspirant in 2022, has been active in party activities and humanitarian work in the Niger Delta.