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Court asked to stop INEC from recognizing Chinda as APC Rivers guber candidate

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There appears to be no end in sight to the political crisis in Rivers State as an Abuja Federal High Court has been asked to stop a major candidate, Kingsley Chinda, from participating in 2027 governorship election in the state. 

Chinda, a known ally of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, minister, Nyesom Wike, emerged the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the party’s primary election held on May 21, 2026. Chinda stood as the sole candidate in the election following the last minute withdrawal of other contestants – incumbent Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Tonye Cole and Alabo Dakorinama George-Kelly.

Following the development, Chinda is currently the governorship candidate of the ruling APC in Rivers State while also serving as Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, a position he occupies due to his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Not much was heard about the lawmaker’s defection to the APC until his name came up as one of the aspirants in the ruling party’s Rivers gubernatorial primary.

However, legal hurdles have emerged in the APC gubernatorial flagbearer’s path ahead of the 2027 election as an association of lawyers, who include members of Chinda’s Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency of Rivers State, has approached an Abuja Federal High Court seeking to stop him from taking part in the 2027 poll on the grounds that his defection from the PDP to the APC did not comply with provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, as amended, as well as Supreme Court pronouncements on defection of legislators. 

According to court documents obtained by DAILY POST, lawyers under the aegis of Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners filed the suit on May 12, 2026, asking the court to stop Chinda from participating in the APC gubernatorial primary, and, in the event he emerges as candidate, bar him from participating in the general election.

Listed as respondents in the suit filed on behalf of the plaintiff by J. B Lamay, Esq, are Chinda, George-Kelly, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Speaker House of Representatives, APC, Department of State Services, DSS, and Attoney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

Besides an order stopping Chinda from participating in the gubernatorial election in Rivers State, the plaintiff also asked the court to order the Speaker of the House of Representatives to immediately remove him as Minority Leader due to dual party membership, and declare his seat vacant. 

Reliefs sought by the plaintiff include an order directing INEC to conduct a bye-election to fill the said vacancy due to Chinda’s alleged violation of Section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and the Supreme Court of Nigeria judgment of 27th February 2025 that stipulates the steps for defection by legislators.

In the same vein, the plaintiff asked the court to order the national leadership of the APC to reject and prevent Chinda and George-Kelly from participating in the Rivers State governorship primaries due to violations of the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026. In George-Kelly’s case, the court was informed that he failed to resign his position as Director-General of the Border Communities Development Agency according to the directive that all appointees of the President of Nigeria ought to resign by 30th March 2026 if they seek to contest elective positions in the 2027 general elections.

However, with George-Kelly having withdrawn from the primary, Chinda’s emergence as APC gubernatorial candidate is now under threat going by the reliefs sought in the lawsuit.
Specifically, the plaintiff asked the court for “an order directing INEC not to recognize or accord validity to the participation, nomination and/or candidature of the 1st and 2nd defendants/respondents (Chinda and George-Kelly) in the APC Rivers State governorship primary election” pending the determination of the suit. 

Stating the grounds for seeking the reliefs, the plaintiff noted that Chinda’s defection to the APC was inconsistent with the provisions of Section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, and pronouncements of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on steps for defection by legislators.

Also, in an affidavit in support of the originating summons, Jesse Amuga, Administrative Secretary of Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, held that “the plaintiff reasonably believes that the continued occupation of legislative office by the 1st Defendant)/Respondent (Chinda) while simultaneously participating in APC governorship activities is unconditional, unlawful and contrary to democratic ethics and constitutional order”.

The plaintiff further noted that, in October 2025, lawyers who represent Chinda’s constituents served him a pre-action notice of their intention to commence his recall process if he defects from the PDP to the APC. According to the plaintiff, by April 2026, the lawmaker disobeyed them and defected to the APC, prompting the lawsuit.




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Tinubu receives Anyim Pius in Lagos

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President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday received former Senate President and Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Primary Elections Committee, Anyim Pius Anyim, at his residence in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The former Senate President’s visit came less than 48 hours after he presided over the APC presidential primary election that produced Tinubu as the party’s flag bearer for the 2027 general election.

Anyim’s courtesy visit formed part of a series of post-primary engagements held by the president at his Lagos residence on Tuesday.

Photographs released by the State House also showed President Tinubu holding separate meetings with several governors, including Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu.

On Sunday, at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, Anyim officially announced the results of the nationwide direct primary and declared Tinubu the winner.

As Returning Officer and Chairman of the APC Presidential Primary Elections Committee, he disclosed that 12,643,306 voters were registered for the exercise, while 11,069,756 were accredited and 11,015,665 votes were cast.

“It is therefore my duty as Returning Officer for this primary election to declare President Bola Tinubu, having satisfied the guidelines, the winner of the APC presidential primary election and hereby declared the presidential candidate of the APC,” Anyim stated during the announcement.

Tinubu secured 10,999,162 votes, defeating his sole challenger, Stanley Osifo, a businessman from Edo State who purchased the APC presidential nomination form for N100 million and polled 16,503 votes.

The primary election was conducted across all 774 local government areas and 8,809 wards nationwide on Saturday, May 23, 2026, marking the first fully structured ward-based direct presidential primary in the party’s history.

The exercise concluded a week-long APC primary timetable, which included House of Representatives primaries on May 16, Senate primaries on May 18, State Assembly primaries on May 20, governorship primaries on May 21, and the presidential primary on May 23.




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Primary elections: Shinkafi drags APC, INEC to court, makes demands

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One of the frontline aspirants for the Zamfara North Senatorial District, Alhaji Sani Shinkafi, has dragged the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Federal High Court, Gusau, challenging the outcome of the party’s primary election in the senatorial district.

The former All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, chieftain is alleging imposition of a candidate, saying there was no consensus among cleared aspirants to present a candidate.

He said there was no written consent indicating his voluntary withdrawal from the race, adding that he did not endorse any aspirant as a consensus candidate.

He said the APC did not follow due process before declaring Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u as consensus candidate for Zamfara North on May 19, 2026, insisting that the attitude of the APC is a clear disdain for democracy and the internal democracy of political parties in the country.

Shinkafi said serious measures must be taken to forestall further abuse of the law by persons in authority to avert chaos, lawlessness and dictatorship, adding that the continued abuse of the law by the defendants would ruin society and retard it to nothingness.

The former governorship candidate told the court that society would suffer irreparable damage if the reliefs sought were not granted.

Shinkafi, Patron of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council 2023 and frontline aspirant for the Zamfara North Senatorial District ticket, filed the suit against the party, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u at the Federal High Court, Gusau, Zamfara State.

Counsel to Shinkafi, Bello Idris Galadi Esq., filed Suit No. FHC/GS/CS/6/2026, dated May 25, 2026, praying the court to interpret some constitutional and statutory provisions and determine the following questions of law:

“Whether, in the light of Section 84(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, the 1st Defendant (APC) was not obligated under the law to conduct primaries for its aspirants for all elective positions;

“Whether, in the light of Section 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, the 1st Defendant (APC) was not duty-bound under the law to nominate candidates for the various elective positions by direct primaries or consensus;

“Whether the action of the 1st Defendant (APC) was not an affront to internal democracy and contrary to Section 86 of the Electoral Act 2026;

“Whether, having regard to Sections 86 and 87(1), (2) and (3) of the Electoral Act 2026, Article 20.4(1) of the All Progressives Congress Constitution, and Article A, Sections (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of the All Progressives Congress Guidelines (Procedure for the Conduct of Direct and Consensus Mode of Primaries), the 1st Defendant (APC) had satisfied the requirements of the law.”

Shinkafi made the following claims against APC, INEC and Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u:

“A declaration that due process was not followed by the Defendants in conducting the purported primary election for Zamfara North Senatorial District, which was purportedly held on May 19, 2026;

“A declaration that the actions of the 1st and 3rd Defendants are inconsistent with and repugnant to the internal democracy of the 1st Defendant (APC);

“A declaration that there was no consensus or direct primary for the nomination of candidates for the Zamfara North Senatorial District purportedly held on May 19, 2026;

“An order of this Honourable Court setting aside the purported primary election for the Zamfara North Senatorial District, purportedly conducted by the 1st Defendant (APC), under the purported supervision of the 2nd Defendant (INEC), purportedly held on May 19, 2026;

“An order of this Honourable Court directing the 1st Defendant (APC) to conduct a fresh primary election for Zamfara North Senatorial District for all cleared aspirants;

“An order of this Honourable Court directing the Defendants to henceforth consolidate and sustain party internal democracy by ensuring credible elections for the nomination of candidates for elective positions and upholding the rule of law;

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, privies and assigns from committing further breach of the aforesaid constitutional and statutory provisions; and for such further or other orders as the justice of this case may demand.”

In a 21-paragraph affidavit, Shinkafi stated that he purchased the APC expression of interest and nomination forms for the Zamfara North Senatorial District and was issued a receipt for the sum of N20 million on April 30, 2026. He submitted the completed forms and was screened by a committee set up by the party, which cleared three aspirants from Zamfara North Senatorial District to contest the primary election, namely Hanafi Musa Moriki, Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi and Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u.

Shinkafi had earlier condemned the arbitrary imposition of a candidate for the Zamfara North Senatorial District and forwarded a petition to the APC National Chairman and the Chairman of the APC Senate Primary Election Committee.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the matter, which could upset the political equation in Zamfara State ahead of the 2027 general election.




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Atiku floors Amaechi in Anambra ADC presidential primaries

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Former Nigerian Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has been declared winner of the presidential primary election of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Anambra State.

Chairman of the ADC Presidential Primary Election Committee, Hon. Nduaka Nwolisa, made this disclosure on Tuesday in Awka, the state capital.

The exercise saw the former vice president poll a total of 58,566 votes, the highest number of votes recorded among the three presidential contestants in the party.

Nwolisa further noted that Rotimi Amaechi scored a total of 17,085 votes, while the third presidential candidate of the ADC, Alhaji Mohammed Hayatudeen, secured 7,861 votes.

Nwolisa said, “The presidential primary election was held peacefully in Anambra State, and it was well contested among three contestants.

“Atiku, having recorded the highest number of votes with 58,566 votes, is hereby declared the winner of the Anambra State ADC presidential primary,” Nwolisa said.




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