BY
BOLAJI AFOLABI.
Since his emergence as the Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), for Rivers State in next year’s general elections, the buzz around and about him, his aspirations, and prospects of being the fifth occupant of the “Brick House” – in the 4th Republic has been tremendous. Ogundu Kingsley Chinda; commonly called O.K Chinda, received a state-wide affirmation polling 268,497 total votes across the entire 319 Wards of the 23 LGAs at the governorship primaries of the party, held on July 27th in Port Harcourt, with Rt. Hon. Laori Kwamoti as the Chairman of the Committee. From the get-go, developments revealed that he was (and still) the right choice, as he enjoys overwhelming support of the people. Thereafter, different Groups, Associations, and Bodies were formed to canvass, market his candidacy; while waiting for the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) to signal the commencement of electioneering campaigns. 
Little wonder there was spontaneous applause and tumultuous enthusiasm by the people when, INEC on September 19, formally announced the commencement of public campaigns for the Governorship and State Assembly elections, in accordance with the electoral guidelines. Almost immediately, there has been a preponderance of activities by different groups and individuals for the O.K Chinda’s project. According to informed and credible sources, meetings, discussions, and consultations across the State have been on the increase. Campaign messages of varied strands and slants have become a permanent fixture on the social media. Here, voters and residents of Rivers regularly receive varied messages from numerous support groups geared towards ensuring that the name, aspirations, and manifesto of the APC candidate is ingrained in their hearts, heads, and eyes. But why the groundswell support? Why the confidence in a Legislator occupying an executive position?
Somehow, it seems there are certain reasons why Chinda’s governorship ambition is gaining momentum, spreading faster, and winning more converts daily. We will come to this later. From research and empirical reports, the writer discovered that, globally, many Legislators transit to Executive positions. In the United States of America, for instance some of the Governors are former Members of Congress. As of January 2026, over a dozen Governors have previously served in the US House of Representatives. They include Kathy Hochul – New York; Abigail Spanberger – Virginia; Mikie Sherrill – New Jersey; Jeff Landry – Louisiana; Kelly Armstrong – North Dakota; and Greg Gianforte – Montana.
Similar trends are prevalent in some countries in Europe and Africa. In Nigeria, between 1999 and now, there are a few former Members of the House of Representatives that have occupied executive positions; either Governor or Deputy Governor in respective States. They include Abdul’Aziz Yari – Zamfara; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi – Enugu; Gabriel Suswam – Benue; Seriake Dickson – Bayelsa; Bello Matawalle – Zamfara; and Aminu Tambuwal – Sokoto. A few others like Umar Bago – Niger; and Duoye Diri – Bayelsa are present chief executives. Some leadership experts argue that having legislative experience is a necessary ingredient that will guide Governors towards credible performances. Further, Legislative Houses – particularly at the federal level – is described as a preparatory institution needed towards assuming executive positions in States.
With these backgrounds, it is obvious that Chinda’s choice is resonating with the majority of people in Rivers. Over the years, he has proven himself as one of the most resourceful legislators in Nigeria. With over 15 years in the House of Representatives, as a quintessential lawmaker, responsive politician, and resilient advocate for good governance, and general well-being of the people, Chinda ticks all the boxes to superintendent Rivers. Seriously, given the vagaries of unfortunate issues that affected Executive-Legislature relationship in the out-going government, moving forward, the State needs a chief executive that is grounded in legislative duties. This, Chinda has in quality measures, in addition to his previous public service careers as a Legal Adviser to the Chairman of Obio/Akpor LGA, and Commissioner for the Environment. For Rivers, it is a classic case of “plus-one-for-one” – having a Governor that has two distinctive epaulettes; executive and (federal) legislative experiences.
Many people have concluded that Chinda is OK for Rivers, as he will not learn on the job but hit the ground running. There are merits in this line of thought and public perception. Being the representative of Obio/Akpor in Nigeria’s House of Representatives since 2011, Chinda has posted brilliant achievements in lawmaking, oversight, and representation. He has over 80 Motions and over 30 Bills to his name. He has impacted on his constituents (and some others outside Obio/Akpor) through projects, programmes, and initiatives that cuts across different sectors. These include education, infrastructures, constructions, health, agriculture, and environment. Others are skills development, community development, women empowerment, youth development, capacity building, and humanitarian gestures.
In the past few months, comments by the people have clearly confirmed the broad-based recognition and public endorsements of Chinda’s governorship ambition. Chief Paul Ekeocha, a Port Harcourt based serial entrepreneur believes that, “Rivers cannot ask for more because of Chinda’s passion and commitment to the development of our State and the people. He maintains a humble, simple, accessible, compassionate, and responsible personae that are rare among politicians.” For Madam Gladys Mike-Hart, an educationist, “he has paid his dues as a loyal, reliable, and dependable, and hardworking politician whose consistent performances have benefitted many people, including non-politicians and members of other parties.”
Comrade Thaddeus Priye, an activist and founder of a youth-focussed CSO declared that, “his candidacy has gained huge traction among different groups, associations, ethnicity, political parties, and others. He has emerged and remains the choice of Rivers people.” Alhaji Usman Minjibir, a non-indegene and transporter revealed that, “our Union has decided to support and mobilize votes for him because some of our members have also benefitted from his programmes, as recent as December last year.” To drive home the point, a senior member of one of the opposition parties in the State who begged for anonymity confessed, “it is an uphill task to defeat Chinda because he is not only loved by many people but he has touched the lives of numerous politicians. The truth is that, his acceptance and support base cuts across different parties.”
Indeed, a dispassionate analysis of Chinda’s public service credentials and political odysseys, to a great extent validates the confidence and optimism of the people. His over thirty years career in the private sector, the executive, and legislature is a huge and unique boost to his aspiration. By May next year, Chinda would have grossed 16 years in the House of Representatives as a super-ranking and top-of-the-class lawmaker with numerous trail-blazing and record-breaking feats. Also, his long years of interfacing with the bureaucracy at State and Federal levels should smoothen the pace of governance, and impact positively on leadership. No doubt, considering his pedigree, Chinda is expected to transform from making laws to Making Rivers Work.
* BOLAJI AFOLABI, a Development Communications specialist was with the Office of Public Affairs, The Presidency, Abuja.
