2027: Court Disqualifies Uzodinma as Senatorial Candidate, Declares Okorocha Winner

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday nullified the nomination of Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo as the 2027 All Progressives Congress (APC)’s candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District election.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a judgment, ordered Uzodinma to stop parading himself as the candidate on the grounds that he did not win the May 18 primary election conducted by the APC and monitored by INEC.

Justice Egwuatu held that evidence presented before the court proved that former Gov. Rochas Okorocha actually won majority of the votes cast at the poll.

The judge ordered that Okorocha should be declared winner of the election.

He also ordered the APC to forward Okorocha’s name as candidate of the party for the 2027 general elections for Imo West Senatorial District.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Okorocha, in the suit, had challenged the INEC over the publication of Uzodinma’s name as APC’s candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District.

In the originating summon filed on Aug. 13 and marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, the former lawmaker joined INEC, APC and Uzodinma as 1st to 3rd respondents respectively.

The applicant, who is also a two-term governor of Imo, posed five questions for determination.

He prayed the court to determine whether INEC was not bound by the reports of its officers who monitored the APC primaries duly conducted on May 18 for the nomination of its candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District for 2027 general election in which he emerged the winner.

He also prayed the court to determine that having regard to the provision of Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the publication of Uzodinma’s name by INEC on Aug. 1 as winner of APC primary for the Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 poll was not wrongful.

Okorocha, therefore, sought 10 reliefs should his questions be answered in his favour.

The ex-govenor prayed the court to declare that by virtue of provisions of Sections 65(1) (b) and 285(14) (a)&(b) of the 1999 Constitution read with Sections 29, 32, 33, 84 and 88(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, as well as the APC’s Rules and Guidelines regulating the conduct of its national primary election, it was unlawful for the party to forward Uzodinma’s name to INEC.

He urged the court to declare that it was unconstitutional for INEC to publish, as done by it on Aug. 18, Uzodinma’s name as APC’s candidate when it was not him that emerged as the winner of the primary election conducted on May 18 May.

He sought an order setting aside or voiding the publication made by INEC on Aug. 1 which declared Uzodinma as the person that won the highest votes in the APC’s primary election held on May 18 to contest as the preferred candidate for Imo West Senatorial District come 2027.

Okorocha prayed the court for an order directing INEC to recognise and publish his name as the duly nominated candidate of APC to contest the poll.

He also sought an order prohibiting Uzodinma whether by himself or through the APC or anyone, howsoever named, from parading himself as the nominated candidate of the party to contest the election.

He equally sought an order awarding cost against the respondents as the noble court may deem appropriate in all the circumstances of the suit.

In the affidavit attached to the suit which was deposed to by Amen Rochas, he said Okorocha is his biological father.

He said by virtue of his position as Okorocha’s Personal Assistant on Political Matters, he was very conversant with the facts and circumstances stated by him.

He said the applicant (Okorocha), who was born on Sept. 22, 1962, is a registered, financial cardcarrying member of APC.

According to him, the applicant is from Ideato Local Government Area of Imo State in Imo West Senatorial District.

He said: “From 2011 to 2019, the applicant was the Executive Governor of Imo State.

“From 2019 to 2023, he was a Senator representing the Imo West Senatorial District in the National Assembly which office is a paid employment of the Legislative Arm of Government of the Federa! Republic of Nigeria.”

Amen said early this year, the APC advertised its schedule of activities and timetable for the conduct of its primaries that would lead to the emergence of its flag bearers in Imo for various political offices to be conducted by INEC ahead of 2027.

He said pursuant to APC’s advertorial, Okorocha expressed interest to be nominated as the party’s flagbearer to the Senate for the Imo West Senatorial Zone.

He said he purchased the Expression of Interest Form (EoI) and the Nomination Form which were duly completed by him and by his nominees as required thereof and submitted to APC.

Amen averred that Uzodinma is also a member of APC also from the same senatorial district and the current governor of Imo.

He stated that Uzodinma’s tenure in office as governor will expire at midnight of Jan. 14, 2028, having taken oath of office and sworn into office on the Jan. 15, 2024.

He said Uzodinma whose tenure in office as governor would not have expired by the year 2027 when the Senate will be inaugurated after the general election in 2027, also purchased an EoI and nomination forms for party’s senatorial candidate.

He said his father, Uzodinma and many other APC aspirants were all screened and cleared to participate in the direct primaries.

Amen averred that on May 17, contrary to extant electoral and party’s guidelines, the APC National Working Committee (NWC), through its National Organising Secretary, issued a notice, warning all state’s chairmen of its National Assembly Primary Election Committee not to engage in any press briefing or announce the outcome of the primaries.

He said the NWC directed that the results should be forwarded to the party’ s national secretariat as same would be announced at the national secretariat

He alleged that the direct primary election was conducted by APC on May 18 and his father emerged victorious by scoring 150,780 while Uzodinma scored 102, 158 votes.

He said after the poll in which Okorocha allegedly won, APC wrote two letters to INEC reporting on the conduct of the primaries with the attached list of contestants and the outcome of the primaries.

Amen said the report of the outcome of the election was made and forwarded by the Head of Department, Election and Party Monitoring (EPM) for the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC for Imo to the commission’s chairman in Abuja.

He averred that the outcome of the party’s primary election as submitted by it to INEC, in respect of the Imo West Senatorial Zone, was not made public upon receipt by the electoral umpire until Aug. 1.

He said to Okorocha’s shock and chagrin, INEC, rather than publishing the true outcome of the poll which his father won as confirmed by the commission’s own reports, it strangely published Uzodinma’s name as the winner.

But Uzodinma and APC disagreed with Okorocha’s arguments.

The governor and the party, in their separate preliminary objections, prayed the court to dismiss the suit for being statue barred, having failed to comply with Section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution.

Robort Emukpoeruo, SAN, who appeared for APC and Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, who represented Uzodinma, submitted that the suit was filed outside the 14-day time limit prescribed by the law.

In the counter affidavit deposed to by Lucky Ajokperiniovo on the governor’s behalf, said he was part of the election committee constituted by the party to conduct the May 18 primary election in the state.

He said the votes were recorded, collated and duly transmitted from the voting venues at the wards, the respective LGAs collation centres, and then delivered to the senatorial district returning officer who finally collated and declared the results.

Ajokperiniovo averred that while Uzodinma won the Imo West Senatorial District poll, Alex Mbata won the Imo East Senatorial District election and Sen. Patrick Ndubueze was declared the winner of Imo North Senatorial District poll.

According to him, the report of the election was duly signed by all the members of the electoral committee, on 18th May, 2026.

He said no person, especially the aspirants, was in doubt as to the result of the election on that day.

“From the conduct of the election, I am aware that the 3rd respondent (Uzodinma) emerged victorious with 230,464 votes, while the applicant (Okorocha) scored 1, 098 votes,” he said.

Ajokperiniovo said though an appeal committee was set up on the election, the panel did not receive any petition in respect of the outcome of the primary.

He submitted that the election was conducted in substantial compliance with the APC’s Constitution and guidelines and the Electoral Act, 2026.

The official, who alleged that Okorocha had grossly and deliberately misrepresented what transpired, said Uzodinma “is not now occupying a paid employment of the legislative arm of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

INEC’s lawyer, M. A. Umar, also adopted their counter affidavit in opposition to Okorocha’s suit.

INEC, in its counter affidavit, said its officials monitored the election and submitted a report and that the report indicated that Uzodinma scored the highest number of votes and was declared the winner.

The commission said that it did not receive any complaint from any of the aspirants in respect of the poll.

Gyang Dung, an Assistant Chief Legal Officer, who deposed to the INEC’s counter affidavit, denied signing any of the exhibits Okorocha tendered as evidence before the court. (NAN)