The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to disqualify Kingsley Chinda as the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate for Rivers State in the 2027 election.
ALDRAP made the demand in a letter dated September 26 and signed by its Executive Secretary, Tonye Jaja.
The request followed a recent Supreme Court judgment restoring provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 dealing with political party membership registers and candidate nomination.
The association also asked INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, to convene an urgent meeting involving ALDRAP, the APC and Chinda to explore an out-of-court settlement.
The request is linked to a pending suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/972/2026, before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
ALDRAP is the plaintiff in the suit, while INEC, the APC, Chinda and other party officials are respondents.
The association had challenged the participation of Abdul Mahmud and Mariana Ajibola in the APC Rivers governorship screening and appeal process.
ALDRAP alleged that their political, professional and personal relationships with Chinda raised concerns about the independence and impartiality of the screening process.
It also argued that the alleged relationships could amount to a breach of the right to fair hearing guaranteed under Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
The association asked the court to compel Chinda to testify on oath about his relationships with Mahmud and Ajibola and to nullify the screening exercise.
But following the Supreme Court judgment, ALDRAP said it was seeking an administrative resolution of the dispute.
“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,” the letter stated.
The group said the proposed meeting was not intended to ask INEC to disregard the Supreme Court’s decision.
Rather, it wants the commission to determine the consequences of the judgment for Chinda’s nomination, the applicable membership-register requirements and the records submitted by the APC.
The Supreme Court had set aside the Court of Appeal decision that voided Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, according to the report of the judgment.
ALDRAP said an early resolution of the dispute would help prevent further litigation and enable INEC to comply with the Constitution and electoral law.
How Chinda emerged
Chinda, a member of the House of Representatives, emerged as the APC governorship candidate for Rivers State after winning the party’s primary held on May 21.
He was the sole aspirant at the primary.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara withdrew from the APC governorship primary hours before the exercise.
Chinda previously represented Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party and served as minority leader of the House of Representatives.
His emergence as the APC candidate followed his movement from the PDP to the ruling party.
The latest legal challenge has now placed his nomination at the centre of a fresh dispute ahead of the 2027 Rivers governorship election.
