RismadarVoice Reporters, May 28, 2026
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has been asked to produce official parliamentary records to confirm whether a letter announcing the defection of Hon. Kingsley Chinda from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was formally read on the floor of the House.
The request was made by the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALADP), which has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Chinda as the APC governorship candidate for the 2027 Rivers State election.
Chinda, who represents Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency and is regarded as an ally of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, emerged as the APC governorship candidate during the party’s primary held on May 21, 2026.
According to the plaintiffs, Chinda’s alleged defection contravenes Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which regulates defections by serving lawmakers.
In a Freedom of Information (FoI) application dated May 26, 2026, and signed by the Administrative Secretary of the association, Jesse Williams Amuga, the group requested copies of the House Hansard, Votes and Proceedings, and Order Papers for plenary sessions in March and April 2026, or any relevant date, to establish whether Chinda’s resignation letter and notice of defection were officially read during plenary.
The association said the records were necessary for the ongoing court case and described them as a constitutional requirement under Section 68 of the Constitution.
“We write on behalf of some of the 500,000 registered constituents of Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency, currently represented by Hon. Kingsley Ogundu Chinda,” the letter stated.
The FoI request was copied to the Deputy Speaker and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Reacting to the controversy, a pro-Chinda group, the Centre for Constitutional Governance and Electoral Integrity (CCGEI), defended the lawmaker, insisting that he had resigned as Minority Leader before contesting the APC governorship primary and had ceased participating in PDP activities.
The legal challenge is expected to test constitutional provisions governing legislative defections and the procedural requirements for validating party switches by elected lawmakers.
