Court Removes Uzodimma as APC’s Imo West Senatorial Candidate, Orders Recognition of Okorocha

The Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified Governor Hope Uzodimma’s emergence as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the January 16, 2027 election and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha as the party’s nominee.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Obiora Egwuatu ruled that evidence before the court showed that Okorocha secured the highest number of votes in the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, which was monitored by INEC.

The judge held that Okorocha, rather than Uzodimma, should have been declared the winner of the primary election.

The court subsequently directed INEC to recognise and publish Okorocha’s name as the duly nominated APC candidate for the forthcoming Imo West senatorial election. It also ordered Uzodimma to stop presenting himself as the party’s candidate for the district.

The suit was filed by Okorocha, who challenged the declaration of Uzodimma as the winner of the APC primary. The former governor argued that the results recorded by electoral officials did not justify the decision to recognise Uzodimma as the party’s nominee.

Uzodimma, the APC and INEC opposed Okorocha’s claims, maintaining that the governor won the primary election.

The court’s ruling introduces a legal dispute over the APC’s choice of candidate for Imo West ahead of the 2027 general elections. The decision concerns the party’s nomination process and INEC’s recognition of its candidate for the senatorial district.