Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has been urged to provide official records of proceedings in the Green Chamber confirming that a letter announcing Kingsley Chinda’s defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC, and resignation as Minority Leader, was read during plenary.
The request was made by the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, which recently instituted a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from recognising Chinda as the APC governorship candidate.
Chinda, a political ally of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, emerged as the APC governorship candidate during the party’s May 21, 2026 primary election following the withdrawal of other aspirants, including incumbent Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Tonye Cole and Alabo Dakorinama George Kelly.
However, the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, whose members include indigenes of Chinda’s Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency in Rivers State, approached the court seeking to restrain him from participating in the 2027 governorship election.
According to the plaintiff, Chinda’s defection contravened Section 68 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as well as existing Supreme Court pronouncements regarding the defection of lawmakers.
To support its position that the lawmaker’s defection did not follow constitutional procedure, the group requested that the Speaker provide evidence showing that a letter officially notifying the House of Chinda’s resignation and defection was read during plenary.
The request was contained in a letter dated May 26, 2026, and signed by Jesse Williams Amuga, Esq., Administrative Secretary of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners.
Part of the letter read: “Request brought pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 2011: Request for the Hansard and Votes of Proceedings and Order Paper of each day of plenary sessions of the House of Representatives, National Assembly, during the month of March and April, 2026, or any other date to ascertain whether the records can confirm the date on which the Rt. Hon. Speaker or any other presiding officer of the House of Representatives read the official letter of resignation of Hon. Kingsley Ogundu Chinda to confirm cessation of his membership of the PDP and also to confirm his resignation as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, National Assembly.
“We write on behalf of some of the 500,000 registered constituents of Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency, currently represented by Hon. Kingsley Ogundu Chinda.
“We write to request a formal letter of response to the above named subject matter.
“This letter that we are requesting is a condition precedent under Section 68 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 which we seek to tender as Exhibit in a lawsuit.
“We, as lawyers representing the constituents, previously wrote a letter expressing the intentions of the said constituents. A copy of the said letter dated October 2025, to the said legislator, is enclosed/attached.”
The correspondence was also copied to the Deputy Speaker and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, following the lawsuit challenging Chinda’s candidacy for the 2027 election, a group identified as the Centre for Constitutional Governance and Electoral Integrity, CCGEI, stated that the Rivers lawmaker had already resigned as Minority Leader before participating in the APC governorship primary and had since ceased involvement in PDP activities.
