The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, 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 former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, won the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026.
The court held that evidence before it showed that Okorocha secured the majority of votes cast during the primary election, which was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Consequently, the court directed the APC to submit Okorocha’s name to INEC as its duly nominated candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections.
The judgment followed a suit filed by Okorocha against INEC over the commission’s publication of Uzodinma’s name as the APC candidate for the senatorial seat. The governor and the APC were also listed as respondents in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026.
Okorocha’s counsel, O.J. Aboje, reportedly filed the originating summons at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, 2026.
The dispute arose from the APC senatorial primary in which Williams Kayode, chairman and returning officer of the party’s 2026 National Assembly Primary Election Committee, declared Uzodinma the winner with 230,464 votes.
However, Okorocha challenged the result, claiming that he won the contest with 150,780 votes against Uzodinma’s 102,158 votes.
In his suit, the former governor asked the court to determine whether INEC was bound by the reports of its officials who monitored the primary election and whether the commission acted lawfully by publishing Uzodinma’s name as the party’s candidate.
Okorocha also sought an order nullifying INEC’s publication of Uzodinma’s name and directing the commission to recognise and publish him as the APC’s duly nominated candidate.
He further asked the court to restrain Uzodinma, the APC and anyone acting on their behalf from presenting the governor as the party’s candidate for the senatorial election.
The legal dispute also raised questions about Uzodinma’s eligibility to contest the senatorial seat while serving as governor. He began his second term in January 2024, with his tenure expected to end in January 2028.
In an affidavit attached to the suit, Amen Rochas, Okorocha’s son, alleged that Uzodinma purchased nomination forms for the senatorial ticket despite the fact that his tenure as governor would extend beyond the inauguration of the 11th Senate in June 2027.
The timing of the election has generated debate over whether Uzodinma would be required to resign as governor if elected to the Senate.
Okorocha served as governor of Imo State from 2011 to 2019 and represented the state in the Senate from 2019 to 2023 before challenging Uzodinma for the APC ticket in May 2026.
