Court Declares Okorocha APC Candidate For Imo West, Orders Uzodimma To Step Aside

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election, overturning the nomination of incumbent Governor Hope Uzodimma.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu gave the order on Thursday, October 29, after ruling that the evidence before the court established that Okorocha won the majority of lawful votes cast in the party’s senatorial primary held on May 18, 2026. The judge also restrained Uzodimma from presenting himself as the APC candidate for the district.

The judgment followed a legal challenge by Okorocha in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, in which he contested INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the party’s nominee.

Okorocha argued that he won the primary with 150,780 votes against Uzodimma’s 102,158. However, the commission had previously maintained that the official result submitted to it showed Uzodimma winning with 230,464 votes, while Okorocha received 1,098 votes. The conflicting figures were central to the dispute over the party’s nomination.

The commission had also challenged the authenticity of a separate document circulated online that purported to show Okorocha as the winner. INEC’s Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Chukwuemeka Ibeziako, reportedly petitioned the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) over the document, describing it as fictitious.

The allegations surrounding the disputed document are separate from the court’s determination of the nomination dispute and do not, on their own, establish criminal liability.

Under Thursday’s ruling, the APC is to forward Okorocha’s name to INEC, which was directed to publish him as its candidate for the Imo West seat.

The election is scheduled for January 16, 2027. The judgment alters the party’s nomination position ahead of the poll, although any subsequent appeal or further court proceedings could affect the dispute.

Okorocha, who governed Imo State from 2011 to 2019, represented Imo West in the Senate from 2019 to 2023. Uzodimma, who is serving his second term as governor, had been recognised by INEC as the APC’s nominee before the judgment.