Rivers 2027: Court sets November 3 hearing in Chinda’s APC governorship ticket battle 

A fresh legal battle is threatening to deepen the uncertainty surrounding the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket in Rivers State, as the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has fixed November 4, 2026, for hearing in a suit challenging the eligibility of the party’s candidate, Kingsley Ogundu Chinda, to participate in the APC governorship primary.

The suit, marked FHC/PH/CS/3/2026, was instituted by Samuel Amatonjie against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chinda, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the APC, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Clerk of the National Assembly.

At the heart of the dispute is the timing and legal status of Chinda’s defection from the PDP to the APC and whether he had acquired the necessary political-party status to participate in the APC’s screening and governorship primary before the primary was conducted.

Amatonjie is asking the court to determine whether Chinda, who was elected to the House of Representatives on the PDP platform, had complied with the constitutional requirements relating to defection before taking part in the APC nomination process.

The plaintiff’s case is anchored principally on Section 68 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which provides for circumstances in which a member of the National Assembly may lose his or her seat following defection from the political party on whose platform the member was elected.

One of the major issues expected to come before the court is the sequence of dates surrounding Chinda’s movement from the PDP to the APC.

The APC conducted its Rivers governorship primary on May 21, 2026, with Chinda emerging as the party’s candidate.

However, his defection from the PDP was formally announced on the floor of the House of Representatives on June 2, 2026, after the APC primary had already taken place.

His resignation letter from the PDP was reportedly dated April 23, 2026, while the Rivers APC has maintained that Chinda registered as a member of the APC on April 27, 2026.

That creates a central factual and legal question: what date and event legally established Chinda’s membership of the APC for the purpose of participating in its governorship nomination process?

The APC has argued that Chinda’s April 27 registration preceded the May 21 primary by 24 days, and therefore satisfied the party-membership requirement it relies upon.

The plaintiff, however, is challenging whether the registration itself was sufficient in the circumstances, particularly given Chinda’s status as a serving National Assembly member elected on the PDP platform and the constitutional provisions governing defection.

The legal dispute has gained additional significance following the September 24, 2026 judgment of the Supreme Court, which restored key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 dealing with political-party membership registers and candidate nomination procedures.

The apex court restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 after overturning the Court of Appeal’s earlier decision on the provisions. The Supreme Court held that the provisions were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.

The ruling has subsequently triggered fresh legal questions around the nomination of some candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.

However, the Supreme Court judgment did not itself determine Chinda’s eligibility to contest the Rivers governorship election. The question of whether the facts surrounding his membership, defection and participation in the APC primary satisfy the applicable legal requirements remains a matter for the courts handling the individual disputes.

A separate case concerning aspects of Chinda’s nomination and the application of the Electoral Act provisions is also pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The Rivers APC has rejected calls for Chinda’s disqualification.

The party’s position is that Chinda became an APC member on April 27, 2026, nearly a month before the May 21 governorship primary.

APC Publicity Secretary, Ikenga Chibike, has argued that the period between the alleged registration date and the primary satisfied the applicable membership requirement.

Supporters of Chinda have also argued that the Supreme Court’s September 24 judgment should not be interpreted as an automatic disqualification of the APC candidate.

The legal question, they maintain, must ultimately be determined from the facts established before the court and the applicable constitutional and electoral provisions.

When the matter came before Justice Mohammed Turaki at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Amatonjie informed the court that he had been served with processes filed by some of the defendants on September 28.

He requested additional time to study the documents and respond to the preliminary objections and counter-affidavits filed in the case.

The request was granted, with the court fixing November 4, 2026, for the next hearing. Multiple reports of the proceedings confirmed the adjournment and the nature of the challenge before the court.

Counsel to the PDP, Paul Daudu, SAN, confirmed that the adjournment followed the plaintiff’s request for additional time to respond to the processes filed by the defendants.

Chinda’s counsel, Dike Udenna, also confirmed the development, stating that the plaintiff required time to respond to the preliminary objections and counter-affidavits.

The November 4 proceedings will bring the dispute over Chinda’s APC candidacy into sharper legal focus.

The court is expected to consider arguments surrounding the timing of his defection, his alleged April 27 APC registration, his participation in the May 21 primary and the constitutional and statutory requirements governing political-party membership and nomination.

Amatonjie is seeking, among other reliefs, an order that would prevent INEC from recognising or publishing Chinda as the APC candidate if the court finds that he was not legally qualified to participate in the party’s nomination process.

The plaintiff is also seeking reliefs that could affect Chinda’s participation in the 2027 Rivers governorship election.

For now, however, there is no court judgment disqualifying Chinda.

The case remains a pending legal challenge, and the November 4 hearing will provide another opportunity for the parties to present their arguments and evidence.

With the 2027 Rivers governorship contest already attracting intense political activity, the outcome of the legal proceedings could become an important development in the battle over the APC ticket.

For Chinda, the APC and the wider Rivers political landscape, November 4 is now another date to watch closely.