The Parliament Support Network (PSN) has rejected calls for the disqualification of Kingsley Chinda, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Rivers State for the 2027 election.
The group described the calls as politically motivated and argued that the recent Supreme Court judgment on provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 does not automatically invalidate Chinda’s candidacy.
In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its National President, Maxwell Idoko, PSN said the Supreme Court ruling should be applied according to its actual legal effect.
The statement followed a request by the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) asking the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disqualify Chinda.
ALDRAP’s request came after the Supreme Court restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, which relate to political party membership registers and candidate nomination.
PSN maintained that the judgment did not amount to a specific judicial declaration disqualifying Chinda from the Rivers governorship race.
“The attempt to manufacture a disqualification where none has been established is, in our view, a distraction from the substance of the Supreme Court’s decision,” Idoko said.
The group also referred to the Rivers APC’s position that Chinda registered as a member of the party 24 days before its governorship primary.
The APC has maintained that the relevant provisions require a party to have its verified membership register submitted to INEC at least 21 days before a primary. Rivers APC has therefore argued that Chinda met the requirement.
Chinda joined the APC on April 27, 2026, while the party conducted its Rivers governorship primary on May 21, where he emerged as the candidate. He formally announced his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC on the floor of the House of Representatives on June 2.
However, the timing of his membership and formal defection has become part of the legal debate surrounding his candidacy.
ALDRAP has linked its request for his disqualification to a pending suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja and has asked INEC to consider the implications of the Supreme Court judgment on the nomination process.
PSN urged INEC to maintain neutrality and allow any genuine dispute over Chinda’s nomination to be determined through the appropriate legal process.
Idoko said political disagreements should not be converted into legal claims without sufficient factual and legal grounds.
“The relevant question is not whether some individuals are uncomfortable with Hon. Kingsley Chinda’s emergence, but whether the legal requirements governing his nomination were satisfied,” he said.
He added that the electoral process should not be unnecessarily disrupted by public pressure over unresolved legal questions.
“The electoral process must be protected from unnecessary disruption. If anyone has a genuine legal objection, the appropriate thing is to present the evidence before the competent court rather than attempt to create a disqualification by public pressure,” Idoko said.
