The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking a review and possible disqualification of Hon. Kingsley Ogundu Chinda as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for Rivers State in the 2027 general elections.
The request was contained in a letter dated September 26, 2026, and signed by the Executive Secretary of ALDRAP, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja.
The association’s petition is linked to a pending suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/972/2026, in which ALDRAP is the plaintiff and INEC, Hon. Abdul Mahmud, the APC, its National Chairman, Chinda and Hon. Mariana Ajibola are respondents.
In the suit, ALDRAP is challenging the process through which Chinda and other APC candidates emerged in Rivers State, alleging that members of the party’s Rivers State Governorship and House of Assembly Screening and Appeal Committees had political and personal relationships with Chinda.
The association is seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that the appointment of Mahmud and Ajibola as chairmen of the APC Rivers State House of Assembly Screening and Appeal Committees, despite their alleged relationships with Chinda and persons aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, created a reasonable apprehension of bias.
ALDRAP contends that the circumstances breached the constitutional right to fair hearing guaranteed under Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The association is also asking the court to compel Chinda to appear and testify under oath concerning his alleged political and personal relationships with Mahmud and Ajibola, as well as to nullify the screening exercise conducted by the respondents.
However, in its latest correspondence to INEC, ALDRAP called for an urgent consultative meeting involving the commission, the association, the APC and Chinda, with a view to resolving the dispute out of court.
The request followed the September 24, 2026 judgment of the Supreme Court, which restored key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 concerning political party membership registers and the nomination of candidates.
A seven-member panel led by Justice Adamu Jauro upheld INEC’s appeal against the Court of Appeal judgment that had invalidated Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026. The apex court held that the provisions were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and restored the earlier Federal High Court decision.
The Supreme Court also dismissed related appeals by the Social Democratic Party and the Youth Party.
ALDRAP said the apex court’s decision had brought renewed attention to what it described as the legal and electoral issues surrounding Chinda’s nomination.
In the letter to the INEC Chairman, the association said its proposed engagement was not intended to undermine the Supreme Court’s judgment but to facilitate a lawful resolution of the issues arising from the pending litigation.
It specifically asked the commission to examine the status of the APC governorship nomination, the applicable membership-register requirements, records submitted to INEC by the APC and the administrative steps required to give effect to the Supreme Court’s decision.
ALDRAP said an early resolution, where legally permissible, could prevent further litigation and assist INEC in maintaining certainty, transparency and compliance with the Constitution and applicable electoral laws.
“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,” the association said.
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