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The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has rejected concerns surrounding the eligibility of its 2027 governorship candidate, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, following a recent Supreme Court judgment.

The judgment, delivered by the apex court on September 24, 2026, has triggered legal arguments over what the decision could mean for Chinda’s bid to contest the governorship election.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court stressed the need for compliance with Section 77(5) and (6) of the Electoral Act, which mandates political parties to submit their verified membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, at least 21 days before conducting their primary elections.

The judgment has consequently raised questions about whether its provisions could have implications for Chinda’s eligibility to contest the 2027 Rivers State governorship election on the APC platform.

Chinda, a serving member of the House of Representatives, joined the APC on April 27, 2026.

He later formally announced his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and his defection to the APC on the floor of the House of Representatives on June 2, 2026.

His declaration on the floor of the Green Chamber came after he had already been declared winner of the APC governorship primary held on May 21.

Some political opponents and legal commentators have contended that, being a serving lawmaker, Chinda’s defection should legally be considered effective from the date it was formally announced on the floor of the House.

There have also been demands on social media platforms for the electoral umpire to immediately disqualify Chinda, who is a loyalist of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike.

ALDRAP writes INEC, demands Chinda’s disqualification

Following the Supreme Court judgment, the Association of Legislative Drafting Practitioners, ALDRAP, petitioned INEC, asking the commission to immediately disqualify Chinda from the 2027 governorship contest.

The demand was contained in a letter dated September 26, 2026, and signed by ALDRAP’s Executive Secretary, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja.

The development is linked to a suit before the Abuja Federal High Court, where ALDRAP is the plaintiff, while INEC, Abdul Mahmud, APC, the APC National Chairman, Chinda and Mariana Ajibola are named as respondents.

In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/972/2026, ALDRAP is seeking an order of the Abuja Federal High Court to disqualify Chinda and APC candidates contesting the Rivers State House of Assembly election.

The group also expressed reservations about the composition of the APC Rivers State Governorship and House of Assembly Appeal Committee, alleging that Wike’s associates and Chinda’s colleagues in the National Assembly were included in the committee.

In its correspondence to INEC, ALDRAP further questioned the validity of the APC governorship nomination, the relevant membership-register provisions, the records submitted by the party to the electoral commission and the measures required to implement the Supreme Court judgment.

‘We have no issues with our candidate’ — APC

Reacting to the controversy on Sunday, the APC Publicity Secretary in Rivers State, Ikenga Chibike, dismissed the concerns, insisting that the party had no problem with Chinda’s candidacy.

Speaking with ZINGTIE, Chibike explained that the Supreme Court judgment requires a candidate to have belonged to a political party for at least 21 days before its primary, maintaining that Chinda registered with the APC 24 days before the party conducted its primary.

“There is no atom of truth in that. They said 21 days, and Hon. Chinda’s timing was 24 days when you calculate it.

“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,” Ikenga said.

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