2027: INEC Clears Wike’s Ally, Chinda For Rivers Governorship Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cleared the ally of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, Kingsley Chinda for the 2027 governorship election in Rivers State.

Naija News reports that Chinda, the former minority leader of the House of Representatives, was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before his emergence as All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the forthcoming governorship election.

Chinda’s emergence generated interest among political elites as news of his defection to the APC did not make headlines.

Attention shifted to Chinda and some other notable political figures after the Supreme Court restored Sections 77(5), (6), (7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, barring parties from fielding candidates whose names were not in the membership register submitted to INEC within the stipulated time.

However, in the 19-man list the electoral commission released on Saturday, Chinda’s name was number 5.

Meanwhile, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has challenged the APC over the legality of Chinda.

He questioned whether Chinda’s name was actually contained in the verified All Progressives Congress (APC) membership register validly submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Eze was reacting to the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on the validity of Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, describing it as a significant judicial reaffirmation that political parties must conduct their internal electoral processes within the bounds of the law.

Section 77(5) requires that only members whose names appear in the party’s register submitted to INEC within the prescribed period may participate in the relevant party exercise, while Section 77(6) prohibits the use of a different membership register for that exercise.

In a statement made available to journalists on Friday, Eze argued that the issue before Nigerians is no longer political propaganda but strict legal compliance.