Fresh controversy has emerged in the House of Representatives following demands for Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to release official records relating to the alleged defection of Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The request was made by the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, a group currently challenging Chinda’s political status in court.
According to the association, the Speaker should provide documentary evidence showing that a letter announcing Chinda’s resignation as Minority Leader and his reported switch from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC was formally presented before lawmakers during plenary.
The development is connected to an ongoing suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where the group is seeking to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Chinda as an APC governorship candidate.
The legal action has sparked renewed political debate over Chinda’s party affiliation and the constitutional procedures surrounding defections by elected lawmakers.
Political observers say the outcome of the case could have implications for future party defections and internal leadership positions within the National Assembly.
Neither Kingsley Chinda nor the leadership of the House of Representatives has officially commented on the matter at the time of filing this report.
