COURT DISQUALIFIES UZODIMMA AS APC CANDIDATE FOR IMO WEST SENATORIAL ELECTION

The Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified Governor Hope Uzodimma’s emergence as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District election scheduled for January 16, 2027, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise former Imo State Governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha, as the party’s nominee. Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the judgment on Thursday, October 29, ruling that the evidence before the court showed that Okorocha won the APC primary conducted on May 18, 2026.

The court ordered INEC to recognise and publish Okorocha’s name as the party’s candidate and restrained Uzodimma from parading himself as the APC nominee for the senatorial contest. In the suit, filed on August 13, Okorocha challenged the publication of Uzodimma’s name as the primary election winner, arguing that the electoral commission’s monitoring reports supported his claim to victory.

Okorocha’s application alleged that he secured 150,780 votes against Uzodimma’s 102,158 votes in the direct primary. However, Uzodimma and the APC disputed the figures, asking the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that it was filed outside the 14-day time limit prescribed by Section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. Their lawyers argued that the action was statute-barred.

In a counter-affidavit filed on Uzodimma’s behalf, a member of the party’s election committee, Lucky Ajokperiniovo, maintained that the governor won the primary with 230,464 votes, while Okorocha scored 1,098 votes. INEC also opposed Okorocha’s claims, stating that its monitoring report indicated that Uzodimma emerged victorious and that the commission received no complaint from any aspirant over the exercise.

The dispute centres on conflicting accounts of the May 18 primary and the results submitted to INEC. The court’s ruling directs the electoral commission to recognise Okorocha as the APC candidate for the 2027 Imo West senatorial election, setting the stage for further political and legal developments ahead of the poll.