Court Declares Okorocha Winner of APC Imo West Senatorial Primary, Sacks Uzodimma

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma to stop presenting himself as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District election scheduled for January 16, 2027.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu issued the order after ruling that Uzodimma did not win the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026, and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In his judgment, the judge held that evidence presented before the court showed that former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha secured the majority of votes cast during the primary.

The court consequently directed the APC to submit Okorocha’s name to INEC as its candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District election in the 2027 general elections.

The ruling followed a suit filed by Okorocha against INEC over the commission’s publication of Uzodimma’s name as the APC candidate for the senatorial district.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, also listed Uzodimma and the APC as defendants.

According to Politics Nigeria, Okorocha’s counsel, O.J. Aboje, filed the originating summons at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, 2026.

Okorocha, who governed Imo State from 2011 to 2019, represented the state in the Senate between 2019 and 2023. He contested the APC senatorial ticket against Uzodimma in May 2026.

During the primary, Williams Kayode, chairman and returning officer of the APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee, declared Uzodimma the winner with 230,464 votes.

Okorocha, however, challenged the result, claiming he secured 150,780 votes against Uzodimma’s 102,158 votes.

The former governor asked the court to determine whether INEC was bound by the reports submitted by its officials who monitored the primary election on May 18.

He also challenged the commission’s decision to publish Uzodimma’s name as the party’s candidate, citing Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution.

The provision bars a sitting governor from holding another executive office or engaging in paid employment while serving as governor.

Okorocha argued that INEC acted wrongly by recognising Uzodimma as the APC candidate when, according to his claim, the governor had not won the primary.

He therefore sought an order nullifying the commission’s publication of Uzodimma’s name and directing it to recognise and publish him as the party’s duly nominated candidate.

The former governor also asked the court to restrain Uzodimma, the APC and anyone acting on their behalf from presenting the governor as the party’s candidate for the election.

In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, Amen Rochas, Okorocha’s son, alleged that Uzodimma purchased the nomination forms for the senatorial contest despite his tenure as governor extending beyond the inauguration of the 11th Senate, scheduled for June 2027.

Uzodimma began his second term as governor in January 2024, with his tenure expected to end in January 2028.

The timing of the senatorial election has also generated debate over whether Uzodimma would be required to resign as governor if elected to the Senate before the end of his tenure.

The court’s ruling places Okorocha at the centre of the APC’s Imo West senatorial nomination dispute ahead of the 2027 general elections.