• Letter read nearly two months after purported submission
•Confusion over how PDP chief emerged in APC without quitting opposition post
Emmanuel Addeh and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The announcement of the resignation of House Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, yesterday raised fresh questions over how the lawmaker retained one of the most prominent opposition positions in the National Assembly despite emerging as the governorship candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.
Chinda’s resignation letter, dated April 23, 2026, was read by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas during plenary on Tuesday, almost two months after it was purportedly written.
The development has renewed scrutiny of the circumstances under which the Rivers lawmaker continued to occupy the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership position while simultaneously pursuing, and eventually securing the APC governorship ticket.
Besides, before now there was no public announcement that Chinda formally defected from the PDP to the APC before clinching the governorship candidature of the ruling party in Rivers, raising questions over the legality of the action.
His emergence as the APC standard bearer may have therefore created an obvious conflict with his continued occupation of the Minority Leader’s office for the period, a position traditionally reserved for a member nominated by opposition parties.
The delayed reading of the letter also raises procedural questions as to why the resignation, which was purportedly submitted on April 23, was not read since then? Again, did Chinda continue to function as Minority Leader after that date? At what point did the PDP caucus become aware that its leader had accepted the ticket of a rival political party? And why was a replacement not announced immediately?
The delay in the announcement has now fuelled questions over why a resignation from one of the principal offices of the House would remain unannounced for such a lengthy period, especially given the significant political developments involving the lawmaker during the intervening weeks.
Chinda, who represents Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency of Rivers State, had until Tuesday remained known by the public as Minority Leader of the PDP caucus despite pursuing his governorship ambition on the platform of the APC.
However, the House did not provide any explanation for the almost two-month interval between the date on the letter and its eventual presentation during plenary.
The controversy comes against the backdrop of heightened political realignments in Rivers State, where the battle for control of the state’s political structure has intensified ahead of the next governorship election.
Recall that in a surprising political stunt, Chinda, a political ally of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, recently emerged as the APC governorship candidate for Rivers State ahead of the 2027 general election.
As part of the ongoing twist, the court-reinstated leadership of the APC in Rivers State had days ago declared all the nominations in the just concluded primaries of the party in the state as null and void. The primaries had produced Chinda, following the withdrawal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara from the primaries.
Besides Chinda, other lawmakers whose defections were also announced on the floor of the House included: Etanabene Benedict, representing Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency of Delta State, who defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the PDP, while Auwalu Gwalabe, representing Katagum Federal Constituency of Bauchi State joined the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) from the PDP.
Similarly, Najimdeen Oyedeji, representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa Federal Constituency, Folajimi Oyekunle, representing Ibadan North Federal Constituency, and Abbas Adekunle Adigun, representing Ibadan North-East/Ibadan South-East Federal Constituency, all in Oyo State, announced their defection from the PDP to the APM.
In the same vein, Anthony Adepoju, representing Ibarapa North Federal Constituency of Oyo State, defected from the PDP to the APM; Adedeji Olajide, representing Ibadan North-West/Ibadan South-West Federal Constituency, also moved from the PDP to the APM, while Makanjuola Sunday Ojo, representing Ogo-Oluwa/Surulere Federal Constituency, defected from the PDP to the APM.
