DEFECTION DRAMA: SPEAKER ABBAS ORDERED TO PROVE CHINDA’S APC SWITCH. (PHOTO).

 Defection Drama: Speaker Abbas Ordered to Prove Chinda’s APC Switch

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has been formally asked to produce the official records of proceedings in the Green Chamber to prove that a letter announcing Hon. Kingsley Chinda’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his resignation as Minority Leader was read on the floor of the House.

The demand was made by the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALADP), the group behind a fresh lawsuit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Chinda as the APC governorship candidate for the 2027 Rivers State election.

Chinda, a close ally of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, emerged as the APC candidate in the party’s governorship primary held on May 21, 2026, after other aspirants — including incumbent Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Tonye Cole, and Alabo Dakorinama George-Kelly — withdrew from the race at the last minute.

In the suit, the plaintiffs, whose members include indigenes of Chinda’s Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency, argue that his defection violated Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and relevant Supreme Court judgments on legislative defections.

To substantiate their claim that the defection did not comply with constitutional requirements, the group has demanded evidence that the resignation letter was formally read during plenary. The request was contained in a Freedom of Information (FoI) application dated May 26, 2027, and signed by Jesse Williams Amuga, Esq., Administrative Secretary of the Association.

The letter specifically seeks the Hansard, Votes and Proceedings, and Order Papers for plenary sessions in March and April 2026 (or any relevant dates) to verify whether Speaker Abbas or any presiding officer read Chinda’s official letter of resignation from the PDP and as Minority Leader.

“We write on behalf of some of the 500,000 registered constituents of Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency, currently represented by Hon. Kingsley Ogundu Chinda,” the letter stated.

It added that the records being requested are a “condition precedent under Section 68 of the Constitution,” which the group intends to tender as an exhibit in the ongoing lawsuit. The association also referenced a previous letter sent to Chinda in October 2025 expressing the constituents’ position.

The FoI request was copied to the Deputy Speaker and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Reacting to the development, a pro-Chinda group, the Centre for Constitutional Governance and Electoral Integrity (CCGEI), maintained in a statement that the lawmaker had already resigned as Minority Leader before participating in the APC governorship primary and has not engaged in any PDP activities since his defection.

The lawsuit and the FoI request are expected to test the constitutional boundaries of legislative defections and the documentation required to validate such moves under Nigerian law.