By NEWSCOUNT Desk

The Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the nomination of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections and declared former governor of the state, Senator Rochas Okorocha, the lawful winner of the party’s senatorial primary.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, October 29, 2026, Justice Obiora Egwuatu ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to replace Uzodimma’s name with that of Okorocha as the APC candidate for the senatorial election scheduled for January 16, 2027.

The court also restrained Uzodimma from parading himself as the APC candidate for the district, holding that the governor did not win the party’s primary election conducted on May 18, 2026.

The judgment followed a suit instituted by Okorocha, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, challenging the recognition of Uzodimma as the winner of the primary and his subsequent nomination by the APC.

Okorocha had asked the court to determine whether INEC was legally bound to recognise the reports of its officials who monitored the primary election and whether the commission acted lawfully by publishing Uzodimma’s name as the party’s candidate despite evidence challenging the declared outcome.

In resolving the dispute, Justice Egwuatu held that the documentary evidence before the court established that Okorocha secured the majority of lawful votes cast across the 10 local government areas comprising Imo West Senatorial District.

The judge consequently declared Okorocha the lawful winner of the primary and entitled to have his name submitted to INEC as the party’s candidate.

A major issue in the proceedings was the conflicting accounts and documents presented by the APC to justify Uzodimma’s emergence as its candidate.

The court observed that while one document indicated that the party adopted Option A4 for the primary, another document attributed to a member of the party’s National Working Committee claimed that Uzodimma emerged through consensus. A separate document, however, maintained that a direct primary election was conducted.

The judge questioned how votes could have been allocated to aspirants when another account of the exercise claimed that a consensus arrangement had produced the governor as the candidate.

Justice Egwuatu also faulted the authenticity and consistency of documents tendered by the APC, describing several of them as contradictory and unreliable.

He held that the documents cast serious doubt on the process through which Uzodimma was presented as the winner.

The court further ruled that INEC was bound to take cognisance of the reports of its officials who monitored the exercise and faulted the commission for accepting Uzodimma’s nomination despite the documentary evidence before it.

Justice Egwuatu held that the nomination violated Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act and failed to comply with the APC’s guidelines for conducting primary elections.

He consequently set aside INEC’s publication of Uzodimma’s name as the winner of the primary and ordered the commission to restore Okorocha’s name as the duly nominated candidate.

The dispute arose after the APC announced Uzodimma as winner of the May 18 primary with 230,464 votes, while Okorocha was credited with 1,098 votes in the result recognised by INEC.

However, another set of documents subsequently emerged, indicating that Okorocha secured 150,780 votes, a development which formed part of the controversy taken before the court.

Okorocha, who governed Imo State between 2011 and 2019, previously represented Imo West in the Senate from 2019 to 2023.

Reacting to the judgment, Okorocha described the decision as a victory for democracy, the Nigerian Constitution and the judiciary.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemeodo, the former governor commended President Bola Tinubu for providing what he described as an enabling environment for the judiciary and other institutions to function.

He also expressed appreciation to the APC leadership for allowing members of the party to pursue their legitimate aspirations and constitutional rights.

Meanwhile, former APC National Chairman and ex-Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, visited Okorocha to celebrate the judgment, describing himself as delighted by the court’s decision.

However, the Imo State chapter of the APC has rejected the outcome of the judgment, insisting that Uzodimma remains its candidate for Imo West Senatorial District.

The party’s State Publicity Secretary, Onwuasoanya Jones, stated in a reaction issued on Thursday that Uzodimma emerged victorious in the primary with the overwhelming support of party members.

He maintained that the party would not abandon the governor’s nomination on the strength of the judgment, adding that its legal department would study the decision and determine the appropriate action.

The party stated: “The Party wishes to state without any confusion that His Excellency Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, CON, remains the candidate of our Party for Imo West Senatorial District, having won the primaries of our great Party with the overwhelming support of the majority of our Party members.”

It added: “The Party’s legal department shall study the outcome of a legal intervention in this matter and act accordingly.”

Also reacting, Imo State Commissioner for Information, Declan Emelumba, described the judgment as a travesty of justice and disclosed that the governor’s camp would approach the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision.

Emelumba argued that the trial court ought not to have entertained the suit, maintaining that it was filed outside the 14-day period prescribed for pre-election matters.

He pointed out that while the disputed primary was conducted on May 18, 2026, Okorocha instituted his action on August 13, 2026, 87 days later.

The commissioner also questioned the procedure adopted by the court in considering allegations involving forgery and disputed documents, insisting that the decision was contrary to established Supreme Court pronouncements.

He said the governor’s camp would explore the available judicial avenues to overturn the ruling.