Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has strongly criticised the defection of House of Representatives Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing it as “organised crime.”
Odinkalu made the remark in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, following Speaker Tajudeen Abbas’ announcement of Chinda’s defection during plenary.
The Speaker read a letter notifying the House of Chinda’s move to the APC. However, the letter was dated April 23, 2026, raising questions about the timing and process. Chinda subsequently resigned as Minority Leader.
Odinkalu highlighted that Chinda had already been selected as the APC governorship candidate for Rivers State in the 2027 election while still serving as Minority Leader of the PDP in the House.
In his post, Odinkalu wrote: “Today, the speaker of @HouseNGR has announced the defection of my good friend, @OKChinda, from @OfficialPDPNig to @OfficialAPCNg. It is claimed he also now ceases to be #MinorityLeader of the House. They back-dated the letter of notification to 23 April.”
“Last month, while still the Minority Leader of the House, Chinda was selected to be the candidate of the ruling @OfficialAPCNg for governorship of Rivers State in #NigeriaDecides2027,” he added.
Odinkalu expressed scepticism about potential judicial validation of the move, stating: “I am sure they have lined up their #FullyOwned judges to make this look kosher with a suitable court order. But no amount of #CourtWashing can clean this up. It is #OrganizedCrime. Period!”
The defection has sparked controversy, with reports indicating that Chinda is facing a lawsuit alleging that the process did not comply with due process and relevant constitutional provisions.
The House of Representatives is expected to elect a new Minority Leader following Chinda’s resignation.
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