Author: Gist Correspondent

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday nullified the nomination of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections and ordered that former Governor Rochas Okorocha be recognised as the winner of the party’s primary.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in his judgment, ordered Uzodinma to stop parading himself as the party’s senatorial candidate, holding that the evidence before the court established that Okorocha won the May 18 primary election.

The judge also directed the APC to forward Okorocha’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its duly nominated candidate for the senatorial district.

Okorocha had approached the court to challenge INEC’s publication of Uzodinma’s name as the APC candidate, arguing that the electoral commission disregarded reports from its officials who monitored the primary election.

In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026 and filed on August 13, the former governor joined INEC, the APC and Uzodinma as the first, second and third respondents, respectively.

Okorocha, who governed Imo State from 2011 to 2019 and represented Imo West in the Senate from 2019 to 2023, argued that the party’s nomination process was not properly reflected in INEC’s publication.

An affidavit filed in support of the suit by Amen Rochas, his son and Personal Assistant on Political Matters, alleged that Okorocha scored 150,780 votes in the direct primary, while Uzodinma polled 102,158 votes.

The affidavit further claimed that the APC submitted reports on the conduct and outcome of the primary to INEC, but the commission subsequently published Uzodinma’s name as the winner on August 1.

Okorocha consequently sought orders setting aside the publication and directing INEC to recognise him as the party’s candidate for the 2027 election.

However, Uzodinma, the APC and INEC opposed the suit, disputing Okorocha’s account of the primary election and urging the court to dismiss the case.

The governor and the APC argued that the suit was statute-barred because it was filed outside the 14-day period prescribed by Section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

Their lawyers, Robort Emukpoeruo, SAN, and Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, respectively, maintained that the action failed to comply with the constitutional time limit.

In a counter-affidavit, Lucky Ajokperiniovo, who said he served on the committee that conducted the primary, claimed that Uzodinma won the election with 230,464 votes, while Okorocha scored 1,098 votes.

He maintained that the results were recorded and collated from the wards through the local government areas before being submitted to the senatorial district returning officer for final collation and declaration.

Ajokperiniovo further stated that the election was conducted in substantial compliance with the APC constitution, its electoral guidelines and the Electoral Act, 2026. He added that the party’s appeal committee received no petition challenging the outcome.

INEC also maintained that its officials monitored the primary and submitted a report indicating that Uzodinma secured the highest number of votes. The commission further said it received no complaint from any aspirant concerning the exercise.

The commission’s Assistant Chief Legal Officer, Gyang Dung, who deposed to its counter-affidavit, also denied signing some of the documents Okorocha tendered as evidence before the court.

The court’s decision settles the immediate dispute over the APC’s nomination for Imo West Senatorial District, with the party expected to comply with the order directing it to submit Okorocha’s name to INEC.