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 was contained in a letter dated September 26, 2027, and signed by ALDRAP Executive Secretary, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja.
It follows a suit pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja, with ALDRAP as the plaintiff and INEC, Abdul Mahmud, the APC, its national chairman, Chinda and Mariana Ajibola as respondents.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/972/2026, ALDRAP is challenging the APC Rivers State governorship and House of Assembly screening and appeal processes, alleging that members of the committees had political and personal relationships with Chinda and individuals aligned with Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike.
The group argued that the alleged relationships created a reasonable apprehension of bias and violated the constitutional right to fair hearing guaranteed under Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
ALDRAP is also seeking an order compelling Chinda to testify under oath about his political and personal relationships with Mahmud and Ajibola, as well as an order nullifying the screening exercise conducted by the respondents.
However, in its letter to INEC, the association asked the electoral commission to convene an out-of-court meeting involving the parties to resolve the issues arising from the pending case and a recent Supreme Court judgment.
The Supreme Court, in a September 24, 2026 judgment, upheld INEC’s authority under relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 concerning political party membership registers and the nomination of candidates.
The seven-member panel, led by Justice Adamu Jauro, set aside an earlier Court of Appeal decision and affirmed the constitutionality of Sections 77(5) and 84 of the Electoral Act 2026.
ALDRAP said the judgment had brought renewed attention to the legal and electoral issues surrounding the APC’s Rivers State governorship nomination.
The association therefore urged INEC to convene an urgent consultative meeting with ALDRAP, the APC and Chinda to explore a lawful administrative resolution, including the status of the nomination, membership-register requirements and records submitted to the commission.
ALDRAP said an early resolution could prevent further litigation and assist INEC in ensuring compliance with the Constitution and applicable electoral laws.
