The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cleared Kingsley Chinda as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Rivers State’s 2027 governorship election, keeping the lawmaker and ally of Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike in the race despite continuing legal challenges.
INEC included Chinda in its final list of 19 governorship candidates for Rivers State, a decision that resolves—at least for now—one of the more closely watched eligibility disputes ahead of the polls.
Chinda, who represents Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, became the APC candidate after the party’s May 21 primary.
He was the sole aspirant following the withdrawal of other contenders, including Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and received 268,497 votes across the state’s 23 local government areas.
His candidacy has drawn scrutiny because he moved to the APC shortly before the primary.
A late-September Supreme Court ruling on party membership registers intensified questions over whether politicians who switched parties close to primaries could remain on the ballot.
Rivers APC officials rejected calls for his disqualification, saying Chinda registered as a party member 24 days before the primary—three days beyond the required 21-day threshold—and that the court ruling did not invalidate his nomination.
The party has urged supporters to concentrate on campaign mobilisation rather than the eligibility fight.
A suit challenging the nomination remains before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, with the next hearing set for November 4.
Chinda’s emergence is widely seen as part of a broader realignment in Rivers politics connected to Wike’s influence and the Rainbow Coalition.
His running mate is Major Jack, Majority Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The commission’s decision gives the APC a clear standard-bearer in a state where the governorship contest is expected to test the durability of alliances between Wike’s network and the ruling party.
