A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove the name of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Imo West and substitute it with that of former governor Rochas Okorocha.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu issued the directive after ruling that Uzodimma did not emerge victorious in the APC primary election held on May 18 and monitored by INEC.
Daily Trust reports that INEC had scheduled the presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives elections for January 16, 2027.
In his judgment, the judge held that the evidence presented before the court established that Okorocha secured the majority of votes cast during the primary and should be officially recognised as the winner.
Egwuatu consequently ordered the APC to submit Okorocha’s name to INEC as its candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections.
The court also barred Uzodimma from presenting himself as the APC’s senatorial candidate for the January 16, 2027 election, ruling that he did not win the party’s primary conducted on May 18, 2026.
While affirming Okorocha as the legitimate winner of the primary, the judge ruled that Uzodimma’s nomination violated Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act and did not comply with the APC’s guidelines for conducting primary elections.
He further declared that the party acted unlawfully and fraudulently by submitting Uzodimma’s name to INEC as the winner of a primary election he had not won.
The judge stated, “That the publication of Hope Uzodimma’s name by INEC as the winner of the primary election is wrongful and unlawful.”
He also ruled, “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.”
Justice Egwuatu equally criticised INEC for accepting Uzodimma’s nomination despite what he described as substantial documentary evidence indicating that the governor was not the lawful winner of the primary election.
He declared, “Rochas Okorocha is the lawful winner and is entitled to have his name submitted to INEC.”
The judge maintained that INEC was required to abide by the report prepared by its own officials, which, according to him, clearly demonstrated that Okorocha won the May 18 primary.
While examining the evidence submitted before the court, Egwuatu questioned the credibility and consistency of documents presented by the APC to justify Uzodimma’s nomination.
He said, “Majority of the documents tendered by APC to support the purported nomination of Uzodimma (3rd respondent) contradicts each other indicating that they were clearly fabricated for the unlawful purpose of nominating the 3rd respondent as candidate.
“In view of the doubt cast on the authenticity of the documents, the court cannot ascribe probative value to the purported documents.”
The judge explained that documents signed, certified and released to Okorocha following a formal request indicated that the former governor obtained the majority of valid votes cast during the primary across the 10 local government areas within the senatorial district.
He also identified inconsistencies in the accounts provided by various APC officials regarding the conduct of the primary election.
According to the judge, one document submitted by the party stated that Option A4 was adopted for the exercise, while another document from a member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) claimed that Uzodimma emerged through a consensus arrangement.
However, a separate document from another NWC member indicated that a direct primary election had been conducted for the same contest.
Egwuatu described the conflicting accounts as significant, particularly because votes were reportedly assigned to the aspirants despite the claim that Uzodimma had emerged through consensus.
The court subsequently directed the APC to forward Okorocha’s name to INEC and instructed the commission to replace Uzodimma’s name with that of the former governor.
The legal dispute followed disagreements over the outcome of the APC primary election for the Imo West Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Okorocha challenged the recognition of Uzodimma as the party’s candidate, arguing that the result announced in favour of the incumbent governor did not reflect the outcome of the primary monitored by INEC.
Uzodimma was declared the winner of the primary and recognised by INEC, which maintained that the official results showed that the governor secured 230,464 votes, while Okorocha received 1,098 votes.
However, another document subsequently circulated, purportedly indicating that Okorocha won the primary with 150,780 votes.
The former governor instituted a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, challenging the primary election result and INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the APC’s candidate.
In the suit, Okorocha asked the court to determine whether INEC acted correctly in recognising Uzodimma as the winner, relying on the disputed primary results and other issues raised in his case.
The suit also questioned Okorocha’s eligibility to contest the 2027 senatorial election while serving as governor, asking the court to examine the relevant constitutional provisions.
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