Rivers Guber: ALDRAP writes INEC, seeks Chinda’s disqualification after Supreme Court judgment
The Association of Legislative Drafting Practitioners, ALDRAP, has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, seeking the disqualification of Kingsley Chinda as the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in Rivers State for the 2027 election.
The request, conveyed in a letter dated September 26, 2027, and signed by Executive Secretary, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja, flows from a suit pending before an Abuja Federal High Court in which ALDRAP is the plaintiff while INEC, Abdul Mahmud, APC, APC National Chairman, Chinda and Mariana Ajibola are listed as respondents.
In the suit numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/972/2026, ALDRAP asked the Abuja Federal High Court to disqualify Chinda and the APC candidates for the Rivers State House of Assembly election on the grounds that the APC Rivers State Governorship and House of Assembly Appeal Committee was populated by Chinda’s friends and colleagues, who are members of the House of Representatives in the National Assembly.
The association specifically challenged the appointment of Mahmud and Ajibola as chairmen of the APC Rivers State House of Assembly screening and appeal committees. According to ALDRAP, their alleged longstanding political and personal relationships with Chinda and individuals aligned with Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, created a reasonable apprehension of bias and compromised the impartiality of the screening exercise.
The association argued that the circumstances amounted to a violation of the constitutional right to fair hearing guaranteed under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution. Among its reliefs, ALDRAP asked the court to compel Chinda to appear and testify under oath concerning his political and personal relationships with Mahmud and Ajibola.
However, in its latest letter to INEC, the association called for an urgent meeting involving the parties to explore an out-of-court settlement following the Supreme Court’s judgment of September 24, 2026, on provisions of the Electoral Act 2026. The Supreme Court had upheld INEC’s authority concerning provisions of the Electoral Act relating to political party membership registers and the nomination of candidates.
A seven-member panel led by Justice Adamu Jauro set aside an earlier Court of Appeal decision and restored the position of the Federal High Court on the constitutional validity of the relevant provisions. ALDRAP said the judgment had brought renewed attention to the legal and electoral issues surrounding Chinda’s nomination.
In the letter addressed to the INEC chairman, the association said it was seeking a “lawful administrative resolution” of the issues arising from its pending case and the Supreme Court judgment.
“The proposed engagement is not intended to invite INEC to disregard or undermine the judgment of the Supreme Court,” the association said. “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.
” The group urged INEC to convene a consultative meeting with ALDRAP, APC representatives and Chinda, arguing that early engagement could prevent further litigation and help establish clarity on the issues. It also asked the electoral commission to determine the administrative steps that should follow from 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,” the letter added.
