Rivers 2027: Fresh move puts APC governorship ticket under scrutiny

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The Association of Legislative Drafting Practitioners, ALDRAP, has approached the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, seeking the disqualification of Kingsley Chinda as the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate for the 2027 Rivers State election.

The request was contained in a letter dated September 26, 2027, and signed by the association’s Executive Secretary, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja. It followed a suit before the Abuja Federal High Court in which ALDRAP is the plaintiff, while INEC, Abdul Mahmud, APC, the APC National Chairman, Chinda and Mariana Ajibola are listed as respondents.

In suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/972/2026, ALDRAP asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to disqualify Chinda and APC candidates for the Rivers State House of Assembly election, alleging that the APC Rivers State Governorship and House of Assembly Appeal Committee was made up of Chinda’s friends and colleagues who are members of the National Assembly’s House of Representatives.

Among the reliefs sought by the plaintiff is a declaration that the appointment of Mahmud and Ajibola as chairmen of the APC Rivers State House of Assembly screening and appeal committees respectively, despite their alleged longstanding political and personal relationships with Chinda and individuals aligned with Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister Nyesom Wike, amounts to bias and violates the constitutional right to fair hearing guaranteed under Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

ALDRAP also asked the court to order the 5th respondent, Chinda, to appear before it and testify under oath concerning his political and personal relationship with Mahmud and Ajibola. The association further sought an order nullifying and setting aside the entire screening exercise conducted by the respondents.

However, in its correspondence to INEC, ALDRAP requested that the electoral commission organise an out-of-court settlement meeting involving the parties in the suit to address the issues in light of the implications of a recent Supreme Court judgment.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria, in a judgment delivered on September 24, 2026, affirmed INEC’s authority concerning provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.

A seven-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Adamu Jauro, overturned an earlier Court of Appeal decision and held that Sections 77(5) and 84 of the Electoral Act 2026 are constitutional and do not conflict with the 1999 Constitution. The case originated from a challenge by the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, over INEC’s enforcement powers relating to political party membership registers and the conduct of primary elections.

In its judgment, the Supreme Court restored the position of the Federal High Court, which had affirmed INEC’s authority, while dismissing related appeals filed by the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and the Youth Party, YP.

The letter sent to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, read, “The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) respectfully writes concerning the consequential electoral issues arising from the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered on 24 September 2026, particularly in relation to the nomination of Hon. Kingsley Ogundu Chinda under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.

“ALDRAP considers this matter especially important having regard to the fact that the Association had previously instituted proceedings before the Federal High Court, Abuja, in which INEC is the 1st Respondent, Hon. Abdul Mahmud is the 2nd Respondent and Hon.Kingsley Ogundu Chinda is the 5th Respondent, alongside the APC and other respondents.

“In that pending action, ALDRAP challenged, amongst other matters, the participation of Hon.Abdul Mahmud and Hon. Kingsley Chinda in the APC Rivers State screening process on the ground that their alleged political, professional and personal relationships created a reasonable apprehension of bias and compromised the independence and impartiality of the screening exercise.

“The action was brought pursuant to the constitutional right to fair hearing guaranteed under Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). The subsequent judgment of the Supreme Court delivered on 24 September 2026, restoring the statutory provisions governing political party membership registers and the nomination of candidates, has further brought into sharp focus the legal and electoral consequences surrounding the APC Rivers State governorship candidature.

“In the circumstances, ALDRAP respectfully requests the Chairman of INEC to convene an urgent meeting with the Association and the relevant representatives of the APC and Hon. Kingsley Chinda, with a view to achieving an out-of-court settlement and lawful administrative resolution of the issues arising from the pending proceedings and the Supreme Court judgment.

“The proposed engagement is not intended to invite INEC to disregard or undermine the judgment of the Supreme Court. Rather, ALDRAP seeks to facilitate a lawful resolution of the consequential issues, including the status of the APC governorship nomination, the applicable membership-register requirements, the records submitted to INEC by the APC, and the appropriate steps required to give effect to the Supreme Court’s decision.

“ALDRAP believes that an early resolution through constructive engagement, where legally permissible, would avoid unnecessary multiplicity of proceedings and assist INEC in maintaining certainty, transparency and compliance with the Constitution and applicable electoral legislation.

“We therefore respectfully request that the Commission urgently convene a consultative meeting with ALDRAP and the affected stakeholders for the purpose of exploring an appropriate out-of-court resolution and determining the consequential administrative steps arising from the Supreme Court judgment.”

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