The 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 general elections and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the name of former governor Rochas Okorocha.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a judgment delivered on Thursday, also restrained Uzodimma from parading himself as the APC senatorial candidate for the January 16, 2027 election, holding that he did not win the party’s primary conducted on May 18, 2026.
The judge declared Okorocha the lawful winner of the primary, which was monitored by INEC, and directed the APC to submit his name to the commission as its candidate.
Justice Egwuatu held that Uzodimma’s nomination breached Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act and failed to comply with the party’s guidelines for conducting primary elections.
He consequently ruled that the party acted unlawfully by forwarding Uzodimma’s name to INEC as the winner of a primary election he had not won.
“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 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.”
The judge also faulted INEC for accepting Uzodimma’s nomination despite what he described as overwhelming documentary evidence indicating that the governor was not the lawful winner of the primary.
“Rochas Okorocha is the lawful winner and is entitled to have his name submitted to INEC,” Egwuatu said.
He held that INEC was bound by the report of its officials who monitored the primary, which, according to him, established that Okorocha won the May 18 exercise.
In reviewing the evidence presented before the court, Justice Egwuatu questioned the authenticity and consistency of documents submitted by the APC to justify Uzodimma’s nomination.
He said several of the documents contradicted one another, casting doubt on their 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,” he said.
“In view of the doubt cast on the authenticity of the documents, the court cannot ascribe probative value to the purported documents.”
The judge said documents signed, certified and released to Okorocha following a formal request showed that the former governor secured the majority of lawful votes cast in the primary across the 10 local government areas that make up the senatorial district.
The ruling followed a suit filed by Okorocha challenging INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the winner of the APC primary.
However, the APC’s Imo State chapter rejected the judgment and maintained that Uzodimma remained its candidate for Imo West Senatorial District, indicating that the dispute could continue through further legal proceedings.
