The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has dismissed concerns over the eligibility of its 2027 governorship candidate, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, following the judgment of the Supreme Court delivered on 24 September 2026.
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The judgment emphasised compliance with section 77(5) and (6) of the Electoral Act, which requires political parties to submit their verified register of members to the Independent National Electoral Commission at least 21 days before conducting their primary elections, and has since prompted questions over whether it affects the candidate’s eligibility to contest on the party’s platform.
The candidate, a member of the House of Representatives, registered with the All Progressives Congress on 27 April 2026.
The party conducted its governorship primary in the state on 21 May, and he was declared the winner.
He formally announced his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party and his defection to the All Progressives Congress on the floor of the House of Representatives on 2 June 2026, after the primary had been held.
Some political opponents and legal commentators have argued that, as a serving lawmaker, his formal defection should be regarded as having taken effect on the date it was announced on the floor of the House. There have since been calls on social media for the electoral commission to disqualify him. He is a loyalist of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike.
Following the judgment, the Association of Legislative Drafting Practitioners wrote to the commission seeking his immediate disqualification from the 2027 governorship race.
The request was contained in a letter dated 26 September 2026 and signed by the association’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja.
In the letter, the association also questioned the status of the party’s governorship nomination, the applicable membership-register requirements, the records submitted to the commission by the party, and the steps required to give effect to the Supreme Court judgment.
The letter is connected to a suit already pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja, numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/972/2026, in which the association is the plaintiff.
The respondents are the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mr. Abdul Mahmud, the All Progressives Congress, the party’s National Chairman, the candidate, and Mrs. Mariana Ajibola.
In the suit, the association asks the court to disqualify the governorship candidate together with the party’s candidates for the Rivers State House of Assembly election.
It has raised concerns over the composition of the party’s Rivers State Governorship and House of Assembly Appeal Committee, alleging that it was populated by friends of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and by colleagues of the candidate who are members of the National Assembly.
Reacting to the controversy on Sunday, the party’s Publicity Secretary in Rivers State, Mr. Ikenga Chibike, dismissed the concerns and said the party had no issue with its candidate.
He said the judgment requires a candidate to have been a member of a political party for at least 21 days before its primary, and that the candidate had registered with the party 24 days before the primary was conducted.
“There is no atom of truth in that. They said 21 days, and Hon. Chinda’s timing was 24 days when you calculate it,” he said.
“So, we have no challenges with our party candidate. We are praying that the Rainbow Coalition endorsement should be him, then we move on to winning the election.”
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