The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cleared Kingsley Chinda to contest the 2027 Rivers State governorship election, listing him as the fifth candidate among 19 names published on Saturday.

Chinda, a former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, was previously a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before emerging as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the election.

His emergence under the APC attracted attention because reports of his defection to the ruling party had received little publicity.

Questions had also been raised about the eligibility of Chinda and other political figures following the Supreme Court’s restoration of Sections 77(5), (6), (7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.

The provisions bar political parties from presenting candidates whose names were not included in membership registers submitted to INEC within the stipulated period.

Despite the concerns surrounding his candidacy, Chinda was included in the commission’s final list of candidates for the 2027 Rivers governorship election.

The former lawmaker is also known as an ally of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.