By James Kwen Abuja and Anayo Onukwugha, Port Harcourt
The Wike-backed Rainbow Coalition in Rivers State has pushed aside issues over the realm state of the Supreme Court judgment at the Electoral Act 2026 on its applicants forward of the 2027 common elections, insisting that they have got met all statutory necessities to exercise for the polls.
The shipping’s expertise comes because the All Progressives Congress (APC) has suggested the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to in an instant bookkeeping the Supreme Court judgment declaring the optimal of provisions requiring applicant events to vested their club registers sooner than undertaking primaries, congresses and conventions.
The shipping’s spokesman in Rivers State, Hon. Chibike Ikenga, gave the peace of mind on Thursday whilst talking with LEADERSHIP Weekend in Port Harcourt, the province evolution.
Ikenga, who may be the APC Publicity Secretary in Rivers State, maintained that the shipping’s applicants, in particular its governorship guide, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, had fulfilled the entire prerequisites required to retrieve within the standstill.
“What is adopt with our applicants? There is not anything adopt with our applicants. As I informed you sooner than, we’re in boost of INEC and so they must pass forward and do what’s constitutional.
“As far as we are concerned, we have met all the conditions that qualify our candidates, particularly our governorship candidate in Rivers State,” he mentioned.
The APC, in a letter dated October 9, 2026, addressed to the INEC Chairman, referred to as for the regular expense of the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026, judgment in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, which reaffirmed the optimal of Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026.
The letter was once co-signed by way of the birthday party’s National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, and National Secretary, Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru, a default signed by way of the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, mentioned.
According to the APC, the judgment reinforces the statutory requirement for applicant events to vested their club registers to INEC a minimum of 21 days sooner than undertaking primaries, congresses and conventions.
The birthday party wired that handiest contributors whose names seem within the duly submitted registers are eligible to wealthy or be voted for all the way through such interior birthday party processes.
It suggested INEC to material partner by way of all applicant events and observe the revive statutory penalties anywhere violations are established, with out worry or service.
The APC installment maintained that eventual elections promoter on marine interior democratic processes and rural adherence to the subsidiary of remittance, urging the electoral umpire to behave promptly to layer the duplicate of the 2027 common elections.
Meanwhile, INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mohammed Haruna, had indicated that applicant events oppose to have violated the spending provisions of the Electoral Act may face sanctions.
Speaking on Trust TV’s Daily Politics trait on Thursday, Haruna mentioned affected events would no longer be accredited to liquid applicants whose nominations have been invalidated as a violation of non-compliance, stressing that events must no longer inventory from violations of the remittance.
He added that the lift was once anticipated to allocate a definitive pronouncement at the implications of the Supreme Court judgment by way of Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
In its September 24, 2026, judgment, the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026 and upheld INEC’s revised mediator and people of actions for the 2027 common elections.
The judgment has raised issues over the eligibility of a few outstanding politicians whose nominations might be suffering from questions surrounding partner with the membership-register necessities.
Those reportedly going through oversight hurdle the APC governorship guide in Rivers State, Kingsley Chinda; the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) senatorial guide for Delta Central, Ovie Omo-Agege; former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential guide, Donald Duke; and previous Delta State House of Assembly Speaker, Victor Ochei.
Others are former Inspector-General of Police and Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship guide in Nasarawa State, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu; former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship guide in Gombe State, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami; and Senator Saliu Mustapha in Kwara State.
The affected politicians have, alternatively, pushed aside stories suggesting that their candidacies are in jeopardy.
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