By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State to stop parading himself as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Imo West Senatorial District election slated for January 16, 2027.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a judgment delivered on Thursday, held that Uzodinma did not win the May 18, 2026 primary election conducted by the APC and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The court held that evidence presented before it proved that former Governor Rochas Okorocha won majority of the lawful votes cast at the poll and should be declared winner.
Justice Egwuatu ordered the APC to forward Okorocha’s name as the lawful candidate of the party and directed INEC to publish his name in place of Uzodinma’s.
In his judgment in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, Justice Egwuatu held that the nomination of Uzodinma breached Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act and failed to comply with the APC’s guidelines.
“The publication of Hope Uzodimma’s name by INEC as the winner of the primary election is wrongful and unlawful,” the judge ruled. He further ordered 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 court also faulted INEC for accepting Uzodinma’s nomination despite what it described as overwhelming documentary evidence showing that the governor was not the lawful winner of the primary.
Okorocha, who filed the suit in August 2026, had asked the court to determine whether INEC was bound by the reports of its officers who monitored the primary and whether Uzodinma, as a sitting governor, could lawfully hold another elective ticket under Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution.
The APC primary committee had earlier declared Uzodinma winner with 230,464 votes.
Uzodinma, who was sworn in for a second term in January 2024, will leave office in January 2028. Okorocha previously represented Imo West in the Senate from 2019 to 2023.
The governor reserves the right to appeal the judgment, which is expected to proceed to the Court of Appeal and possibly the Supreme Court for final determination.
