By Michael AMAJAMA
As the race towards 2027 general elections hots up, the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, ALDRAP, has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to disqualify the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, from the contest.
In a letter dated September 26 and signed by Tonye Jaja, its executive secretary, ALDRAP asked INEC to convene an urgent meeting with the association, the APC and Chinda to explore an out-of-court settlement of a pending suit challenging aspects of his nomination.
The request follows the Supreme Court judgement delivered on Thursday, which restored some provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing political party membership registers and the nomination of candidates.
A seven-member panel led by Adamu Jauro set aside the court of appeal judgement which had voided sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Act.
The apex court held that the provisions were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and restored the judgement of the federal high court, which had earlier dismissed the constitutional challenge.
In the letter addressed to Joash Amupitan, INEC chairman, ALDRAP said the judgement had brought “into sharp focus” the legal and electoral consequences surrounding Chinda’s candidacy.
The association said the request was connected to suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/972/2026 pending before the federal high court in Abuja.
ALDRAP is the plaintiff in the suit, while INEC, Abdul Mahmud, chairman of the APC appeal panel for Rivers assembly aspirants, the APC, its national chairman, Chinda and Mariana Ajibola are listed as respondents.
In the suit, ALDRAP had challenged the participation of Mahmud and Ajibola in the APC Rivers governorship screening and appeal process, alleging that their political, professional and personal relationships with Chinda created a reasonable apprehension of bias.
The association said the alleged relationships compromised the independence and impartiality of the screening process and violated the right to fair hearing guaranteed under section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
It also asked the court to compel Chinda to testify on oath about his political and personal relationships with Mahmud and Ajibola and to nullify the screening exercise.
However, in its latest letter, ALDRAP said it was seeking an administrative resolution of the issues arising from the pending case and the supreme court judgement.
“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 judgement,” the letter reads.
The association said the proposed engagement was not an invitation to INEC to disregard the supreme court’s decision.
ALDRAP said an early resolution of the Rivers dispute would prevent further litigation and assist INEC in ensuring compliance with the Constitution and electoral law.
“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 added.
