A Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the recognition of Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as the All Progressives Congress candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise former governor Rochas Okorocha as the party’s candidate.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in his judgment, held that Uzodimma did not emerge as the lawful winner of the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026.
The judge consequently set aside INEC’s publication of Uzodimma’s name as the party’s candidate for the January 16, 2027, National Assembly election and ordered the APC to submit Okorocha’s name to the electoral commission.
Justice Egwuatu ruled that the governor’s nomination violated Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act and failed to comply with the party’s guidelines for conducting primary elections.
“That the publication of Hope Uzodimma’s name by INEC as the winner of the primary election is wrongful and unlawful,” the judge declared.
He further ordered that “the INEC publication of the name of Hope Uzodimma on August 1 as APC Senatorial candidate for Imo West is hereby set aside and in its place, INEC is ordered to restore the name of Rochas Okorocha.”
The court also restrained Uzodimma from presenting himself as the APC’s senatorial candidate for the district, maintaining that the evidence before it did not support his recognition as the winner of the primary.
Justice Egwuatu faulted INEC for accepting the governor’s nomination despite documentary evidence which, according to him, established that Okorocha won the exercise monitored by the electoral commission.
“Rochas Okorocha is the lawful winner and is entitled to have his name submitted to INEC,” he said.
The judge further held that the electoral commission was bound to take account of the report prepared by its officials who monitored the primary.
Court questions APC documents
In examining the evidence presented by the parties, Justice Egwuatu expressed doubts about the authenticity and consistency of documents submitted by the APC to justify Uzodimma’s nomination.
He observed that the documents contained conflicting accounts of how the primary election was conducted, raising questions about the basis for recognising the incumbent governor as the winner.
“Majority of the documents tendered by APC to support the purported nomination of Uzodimma (3rd respondent) contradict each other, indicating that they were clearly fabricated for the unlawful purpose of nominating the 3rd respondent as candidate,” the judge said.
He added that “in view of the doubt cast on the authenticity of the documents, the court cannot ascribe probative value to the purported documents.”
According to the court, documents signed, certified and released to Okorocha following a formal request indicated that the former governor secured the majority of valid votes cast across the 10 local government areas comprising the senatorial district.
The judge also identified inconsistencies in the accounts provided by APC officials regarding the method used to select the party’s candidate.
One document submitted by the party indicated that Option A4 was used for the exercise, while another document from a member of the party’s National Working Committee claimed Uzodimma emerged through a consensus arrangement.
A separate document from another NWC member, however, stated that a direct primary was conducted.
Justice Egwuatu questioned how the governor could have emerged through consensus when votes were reportedly allocated to the aspirants.
He said the contradictions undermined the credibility of the documents relied upon to justify Uzodimma’s nomination.
The court subsequently directed the APC to forward Okorocha’s name to INEC and ordered the commission to replace the governor’s name with that of the former governor.
Disputed primary results triggered suit
The judgment followed a legal challenge instituted by Okorocha against Uzodimma’s recognition as the APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The former governor disputed the outcome of the May 18 primary, arguing that the result announced in favour of Uzodimma did not reflect the exercise monitored by INEC officials.
INEC had recognised Uzodimma as the winner, maintaining that the official results showed that the governor polled 230,464 votes, while Okorocha secured 1,098 votes.
However, another document subsequently circulated, purporting to show that Okorocha won the primary with 150,780 votes.
The conflicting figures became central to the dispute over the legitimacy of the governor’s nomination.
Okorocha subsequently approached the Federal High Court in Abuja in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, challenging the outcome of the primary and INEC’s decision to recognise Uzodimma as the APC candidate.
He asked the court to determine whether the commission acted lawfully in recognising the governor, relying on the disputed results and other issues raised in the suit.
The case also raised questions about Uzodimma’s eligibility to contest the 2027 senatorial election while serving as governor, with Okorocha asking the court to interpret the relevant constitutional provisions.
Okorocha’s lawyer welcomes judgment
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to Okorocha, O.J. Aboje, described the ruling as a vindication of his client, who he said had faced allegations of forging documents relating to the disputed primary.
“Firstly, we’re happy. You recall that in the last few weeks my client has been accused in the media of forging documents; he did this, he did all that. But you have all heard the court,” Aboje told journalists.
He added that the ruling had cleared the way for his client to be recognised in accordance with the court’s findings.
“Like it’s always said, the court is the last hope for the common man, even though my client is not a common man. He has been vindicated,” the lawyer said.
Also speaking, Okorocha’s son and Special Adviser on Political Matters, Amen Rochas, commended the judiciary for what he described as a fair judgment.
He alleged that the circulation of fake news surrounding the dispute was an attempt to influence the judicial process but said the court had remained firm.
“I must salute the judiciary. With all this fake news that happened just recently, I’m sure it was to arm-twist the judiciary, but they stood firm,” he said.
Amen also praised his father for remaining focused on President Bola Tinubu’s campaign despite the pressure arising from the dispute.
The ruling represents a major development in the APC’s candidate-selection process for Imo West ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the court directing the party and INEC to recognise Okorocha in place of Uzodimma.
