A legal group, the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), has declared that the recent move by House of Representatives Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not lawful. Chinda recently clinched the APC governorship ticket for Rivers State in the party’s primary.
According to the lawyers, who include constituents from Chinda’s Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency, the sole authority to announce a legislator’s defection during a House session rests with the Speaker. They assert that no such official declaration has been made regarding Chinda.
Drawing on Supreme Court precedents, ALDRAP maintains that the defection is invalid. The group’s statement, signed by Jesse Williams Amuga, Esq., emphasizes that a valid party switch requires the Speaker to announce it on the floor. They referenced the Supreme Court case Abegunde vs. O.S.H.A (2015) to support their position.
The lawyers further explained that under Section 68 of the 1999 Constitution, the primary condition for a legal defection is that the legislator’s former party must be in a severe crisis rendering it non-functional. They argued that in April 2026, when Chinda defected, the PDP was not in such a state. They noted that the Supreme Court had earlier resolved the PDP’s leadership dispute by recognizing the faction led by Nyesom E. Wike, and the party successfully conducted its primaries, nominating Senator Sandy Onor as its presidential candidate.
ALDRAP outlined the criteria set by the Supreme Court in the case Rivers State House of Assembly vs. Governor of Rivers State and Others for a valid defection: a crisis within the original party, a resignation letter submitted to that party, a membership card from the new party, and a formal announcement by the Speaker. The court also stressed the need for prior consultation with constituents.
The lawyers revealed that Chinda’s constituents had written to him in October 2025, opposing his planned defection and warning of recall proceedings under Section 69 of the Constitution. They have since filed lawsuits to have the Speaker declare Chinda’s seat vacant, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Oloyo vs. Egbe that only the Speaker can declare a seat vacant.