The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbass, has been asked to produce records of proceedings in the Green Chamber to show that a letter announcing 410 defection to All Progressives Congress, APC, and resignation as Minority Leader, was read on the floor of the House.

The request was made by the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners who recently filed a suit seeking an order of an Abuja Federal High Court to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from recognizing Chinda as the governorship candidate of the APC.

Chinda, an ally of the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike was elected the governorship candidate of the APC in the May 21, 2026 primary election, after the last-minute withdrawal of other contestants – incumbent Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Tonye Cole and Alabo Dakorinama George-Kelly.

But the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners whose members are indigenes of Chinda’s Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency of Rivers State dragged him before an Abuja Federal High Court to stop him from contesting the 2027 poll.

The plaintiff argued that the defection of the lawmaker was inconsistent with the provisions of Section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and pronouncements of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on the defection of legislators.

The plaintiff is asking the Speaker of the House of Representatives to present evidence that a letter notifying the House of the development was read on the floor during plenary to support his claim that Chinda’s defection was not in accordance with due process.

The request was made in a letter dated 26 May 2027 signed by Jesse Williams Amuga, Esq., Administrative Secretary, Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners.

The letter read: “Request made under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011: Request for Hansard and Votes of Proceedings and Order Paper for each day of plenary sessions of the House of Representatives, National Assembly, for the month of March and April, 2026 or any other date to ascertain if the records can confirm the date when the Rt. Hon. Speaker or any other presiding officer of the House of Representatives read the official letter of resignation of Hon. Kingsley Ogundu Chinda to confirm cessation of his membership of the PDP and also confirm his resignation as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, National Assembly.

“We write on behalf of some of the 500,000 registered constituents of Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency represented by Hon. Kingsley Ogundu Chinda.

“We write to request a formal letter of response to the above subject matter.

“This letter we are seeking is a condition precedent under Section 68 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 that we want to exhibit in a suit.

“We, the lawyers representing the constituents, had sent a letter earlier to express the intentions of the said constituents. Enclosed/attached is a copy of the said letter dated October 25, 2025, to the said legislator.”

A copy of the letter was sent to the Deputy Speaker and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

In a statement after the suit against Chinda’s candidacy in the 2027 election, the Centre for Constitutional Governance and Electoral Integrity, CCGEI, said the Rivers lawmaker resigned as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives before joining the APC governorship race and had not been involved in any PDP-related activities since.

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Atiku Abubakar, the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has asked President Bola Tinubu to resign his position as the leader of Nigeria.

Atiku in a statement on Thursday, linked the insecurity challenges bedevilling the country to the leadership failure of the Tinubu administration.

He said President Tinubu has failed in the duty of protecting the citizens of the country.

The ADC Presidential candidate has expressed deep concern about the worsening insecurity in the country, noting that it posed a direct threat to the country’s education system and made a mockery of the so-called Safe Schools initiative.

Atiku said it was embarrassing that terrorists threaten citizens with such regularity and with complete impunity, and that the government does not respond appropriately.

The former Vice President was said to have spoken against the backdrops of the recent happenings where not less than 42 school children were abducted on May 15 in terrorist raids on the Government Day Secondary School, Mussa Central Primary School and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Secondary School in Mussa town, Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.

Similarly, over 40 students and teachers were abducted from Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele; Primary School, Esiele; and Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School, all in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo state.

The terrorists then beheaded a teacher in a gruesome manner, while the victims remain hostages.

Despite the prevailing challenges, Atiku said the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration was still making empty promises.

He therefore urged the federal government to fast track the safe release of school children abducted in Oyo and Borno states.

Atiku, however, acknowledged that the primary duty of any government is the security and welfare of the governed, and urged Tinubu to resign from office in the interest of Nigerians.

“The president, Tinubu, has no moral or political latitude to remain in Aso Villa a day longer when tens of hundreds of abducted citizens languish in captivity across the country.

“Which government will open up its national territory to non-state actors to turn it into killing fields and a safe haven for kidnapping and extortion?” the Waziri of Adamawa asked.

Atiku said security should not be a political slogan and that citizens will only be impressed by prompt and effective response to security challenges.

He added that letting terrorist abductions drag on creates incentives for future attacks on schools by criminal elements.

“Impunity emboldens the terrorists, makes them more determined to mount future attacks. “The citizens look up to the government for urgent and prompt interventions to banditry and terrorist attacks,” Atiku said, adding that “the government must project confidence in the minds of the citizens that it is capable of protecting them at all times,” he said.

Official condemnations of terrorist abductions are not enough, the ex-Vice President pointed out, if they are not followed up with prompt rescue action.

He also called for the speedy dispensation of justice in the trial of arrested terrorists, lamenting the delay in Nigeria’s criminal justice system, where terrorism trials drag endlessly.

“We need special courts to fast track the trial of terrorists and bandits in the country and we need it urgently. In addition, the country must issue the death penalty for terrorism offences. But death penalty itself will not be effective if the government does not have the political will to sign death warrants for convicted terrorists promptly,” he said.

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