The Supreme Court’s judgment of September 24, 2026, in INEC vs ZLP has restored legal sanity, but it has also opened a Pandora’s box for carpet-crossing politicians. Its spirit is simple: you cannot reap where you did not sow. The question is, does Hon. O.K. Chinda of Rivers APC pass that test?
The facts in the public domain are damning:
- The Timeline of Defection:
Hon. Kingsley Chinda’s defection letter was dated April 23, 2026, but it was only read on the floor of the House by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas on June 2, 2026, after the Sallah recess. This was 12 days AFTER he had already won the APC Rivers gubernatorial primary held on May 21, 2026. He formally resigned as Minority Leader the same day, a position he held by virtue of being PDP.
As ALDRAP, a group of legislative lawyers, argued in their FOI request to INEC, for a defection to be valid under Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution and Supreme Court precedents, there must be a formal announcement during plenary by the presiding officer before the lawmaker exercises the rights of the new party. Chinda participated in the APC primary while still legally the Minority Leader of the PDP. Prof. Chidi Odinkalu called it “organised crime” and “court washing.”
- The Membership Register Trap – Section 77:
This is where the Supreme Court judgment bites hardest. The restored Section 77(5) and 77(6) of the Electoral Act 2026 say only persons in the party register submitted to INEC not later than 21 days before primaries can participate.
INEC’s timetable: primaries must end May 30, 2026. Therefore, the registration deadline was May 10, 2026. ALDRAP, in a letter dated June 2, 2026, demanded that INEC produce the APC Rivers register as of May 10. Was Chinda’s name there before his defection was even announced on June 2? If he was registered after April 23 but before May 10, his registration is still questionable because at that time he had not formally defected on the floor.
Verdict:
On the doctrine of nemo dat quod non habet – you cannot give what you don’t have – Chinda cannot claim APC membership rights before APC legally owned him.
The Supreme Court judgment is of general application. It applies to PDP in Kwara, APC in Ogun, and APC in Rivers. It does not know party colours.
Unless Hon. Chinda produces an INEC-certified APC register showing his name as of May 10, 2026, and proves his April 23 letter was read before May 21, his candidacy fails the twin test of constitutional defection and Electoral Act compliance. Legally, he is still PDP in the eyes of the law, but politically APC on the ballot – an incurable contradiction.
My Name Is Jefferson Otoanye Agiobu,
I’m A Kalabari Man From Bakana.
