Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, has reacted to the defection of the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
Odinkalu made his remarks in a post on X on Tuesday, where he described the development as “organized crime,” insisting that no court ruling could justify the circumstances surrounding Chinda’s movement to the ruling party.
His reaction follows controversy generated after the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, announced during plenary that Chinda had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
The Speaker read a letter notifying the House of Chinda’s defection, with the document reportedly dated April 23, 2026.
The development comes after Chinda had already emerged as the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Rivers State ahead of the 2027 elections.
Following the announcement, Chinda resigned from his position as Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
Odinkalu noted that Chinda was selected as the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate for Rivers State while still serving as Minority Leader on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
He added that while there may be attempts to legitimise the situation through the courts, the circumstances surrounding the defection could not be justified.
The House of Representatives is expected to elect a new Minority Leader following his resignation.
In his post, Odinkalu wrote:
“Today, the speaker of @HouseNGR has announced the defection of my good friend, @OKChinda, from @OfficialPDPNig to @OfficialAPCNg.
“It is claimed he also now ceases to be #MinorityLeader of the House. They back-dated the letter of notification to 23 April.
“Last month, while still the Minority Leader of the House, Chinda was selected to be the candidate of the ruling @OfficialAPCNg for governorship of Rivers State in #NigeriaDecides2027.
“I am sure they have lined up their #FullyOwned judges to make this look kosher with a suitable court order. But no amount of #CourtWashing can clean this up. It is #OrganizedCrime. Period!”
