Court Adjourns Suit Challenging Chinda’s Rivers APC Candidacy to November 4

The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has postponed until November 4, 2026, the hearing of a case challenging Kingsley Chinda's candidacy for the APC governorship in Rivers State. The plaintiff, Samuel Amatonjie, requested additional time to address preliminary objections raised by the defendants' legal teams. Chinda, a former PDP member and current Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, secured the APC nomination after several other candidates withdrew from the party's primary.

Amatonjie's lawsuit seeks to determine if Chinda's defection from PDP to APC on May 9, 2026, was valid, according to the 1999 Constitution. The plaintiff also seeks a declaration that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must abide by the constitution's provisions when assessing the eligibility of candidates. If the court finds Chinda did not defect validly, Amatonjie is asking for an injunction barring INEC from recognizing his name as the APC candidate and for a declaration that any recognition by INEC is null and void.

The suit involves Chinda, INEC, PDP, APC, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Clerk to the National Assembly as respondents.