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.

Reliefs sought by the plaintiff include 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 longstanding political and personal relationship with Chinda and persons aligned with Federal Capital Territory, FCT, minister, Nyesom Wike, constitutes bias and violation of the constitutional right to fair hearing as guaranteed under Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

ALDRAP in the suit also asked the court for an order compelling the 5th respondent, Chinda, to appear before the court to testify on oath about his political and personal relationship with Mahmud and Ajibola, as well as an order nullifying and setting aside the entire screening exercise conducted by the respondents.

However, in its letter to INEC, ALDRAP asked the electoral commission to convene an out-of-court settlement meeting between parties in the suit towards the resolution of the issues in line with the implications of a recent Supreme Court judgment.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria had in a judgment on September 24, 2026, upheld INEC’s authority regarding provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.

A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Adamu Jauro set aside an earlier Court of Appeal decision and affirmed that sections 77(5) and 84 of the Electoral Act 2026 are constitutional and do not conflict with the 1999 Constitution. The case arose from a challenge by the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, concerning INEC’s enforcement powers over political party membership registers and the conduct of primaries.

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

The letter addressed 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.”