A Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the recognition of Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 elections, declaring former governor Rochas Okorocha the lawful winner of the party’s primary.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, the court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove Uzodimma’s name from its list of candidates for the January 16, 2027, senatorial election and restore Okorocha’s name in its place.
The court also restrained Uzodimma from presenting himself as the APC’s senatorial candidate for the district, holding that he did not win the party’s primary conducted on May 18, 2026.
Justice Egwuatu directed the APC to submit Okorocha’s name to INEC, ruling that the former governor secured the lawful majority of votes cast in the primary monitored by the electoral commission.
The judge held that the process through which Uzodimma was nominated violated Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act and failed to comply with the APC’s guidelines for conducting primary elections.
He described the party’s decision to forward Uzodimma’s name to INEC as unlawful and fraudulent, having found that the governor was not the legitimate winner of the exercise.
The judge specifically set aside INEC’s publication of Uzodimma’s name on August 1 as the APC candidate for Imo West, declaring that the publication was wrongful and unlawful.
A major basis for the judgment was the court’s assessment of documents presented by the APC to justify Uzodimma’s emergence as its candidate.
Justice Egwuatu said several of the documents contradicted one another, casting serious doubt on their authenticity and reliability.
“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 the court could not attach evidential value to the documents because their authenticity had been called into question.
The judge identified conflicting accounts from APC officials over the method used to select the party’s candidate.
According to the judgment, one document indicated that Option A4 was used during the primary, while another document from a member of the party’s National Working Committee claimed that Uzodimma emerged through a consensus arrangement.
A separate document from another National Working Committee member, however, stated that a direct primary was conducted.
Justice Egwuatu questioned the inconsistencies, particularly the fact that votes were reportedly allocated to the aspirants despite the claim that the candidate had emerged through consensus.
The judge said documents signed, certified and released to Okorocha following a formal request showed that the former governor won the majority of lawful votes cast across the 10 local government areas that make up Imo West Senatorial District.
He further held that INEC ought to have relied on the report of its own officials, which, according to the court, established Okorocha as the winner of the primary.
The court consequently ordered the APC to transmit Okorocha’s name to the commission and directed INEC to replace Uzodimma’s name with that of the former governor.
The legal dispute followed conflicting claims over the outcome of the APC primary for Imo West Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 elections.
Uzodimma was announced as the winner and recognised by INEC. The commission maintained that the official results showed that the governor polled 230,464 votes, against the 1,098 votes recorded for Okorocha.
However, a separate document later circulated, purporting to show that Okorocha won the primary with 150,780 votes.
Challenging Uzodimma’s recognition, Okorocha approached the Federal High Court in Abuja in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026.
He asked the court to determine whether INEC acted lawfully in recognising the incumbent governor as the party’s candidate, relying on the disputed results and other issues raised in the suit.
The case also raised questions about Okorocha’s eligibility to contest the senatorial election while serving as governor, with the former governor asking the court to consider the relevant constitutional provisions.
The court’s decision ultimately turned on its findings concerning the conduct and outcome of the primary, the conflicting documents submitted by the APC and the evidence relating to the votes cast.
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 in the media that he forged documents relating to the 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 said.
He described the judiciary as the last hope of the common man, adding that the judgment had cleared his client of the allegations levelled against him.
“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,” he said.
Amen Rochas, Okorocha’s son and Special Adviser on Political Matters, also commended the judiciary, alleging that the circulation of fake news surrounding the dispute was intended to put pressure on the courts.
“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.
He also praised his father for remaining focused on President Bola Tinubu’s campaign despite what he described as the pressure arising from the dispute.
