The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, has appeared before the screening committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the party’s governorship primaries in Rivers State.
Chinda, who currently represents Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the National Assembly, was screened on Saturday as an aspirant for the APC governorship ticket in the 2027 Rivers governorship election.
His appearance before the APC screening panel has further fuelled speculations that the federal lawmaker may be preparing to defect from the PDP to the ruling party.
However, Chinda has yet to officially confirm any planned defection.
Chinda is one of two prominent allies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who obtained APC governorship nomination forms ahead of the race.
The second aspirant is Dax George-Kelly, the Director-General of the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA).
Questions have, however, emerged over George-Kelly’s eligibility to contest while still serving as a political appointee.
The Presidency, through the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, had earlier directed all political appointees interested in elective positions in 2027 to resign on or before March 30, 2026.
Other aspirants seeking the APC governorship ticket in Rivers include Governor Siminalayi Fubara and former governorship candidate, Tonye Cole.
