How court ruling reshapes APC’s Imo West Senatorial contest

A Federal High Court has declared Rochas Okorocha the winner of the APC’s Imo West senatorial primary, overturning the party’s earlier result in favour of Governor Hope Uzodimma and raising questions about the handling of the nomination process.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC) to submit former Imo State governor Rochas Okorocha’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election, following a dispute over the party’s primary results.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the judgment on Thursday, October 29, 2026, ruling that the evidence before the court established that Okorocha won the primary held on May 18. The judge also ordered Governor Hope Uzodimma to stop presenting himself as the APC’s candidate for the senatorial seat.

The decision followed a legal challenge by Okorocha, who disputed the outcome announced by the APC and questioned INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the party’s nominee.

The result that triggered the dispute

The controversy began when the APC’s returning officer for the 2026 Imo National Assembly primary elections, Williams Kayode, announced Uzodimma as the winner of the Imo West contest with 230,464 votes. Okorocha was credited with 1,098 votes.

Okorocha challenged the result, arguing that reports from officials who monitored the exercise supported his claim to victory. He subsequently filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against INEC, the APC and Uzodimma.

In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, filed in August 2026, Okorocha asked the court to determine whether INEC was bound by the reports of its officials who monitored the primary and whether the commission acted lawfully by recognising Uzodimma as the winner.

He sought an order setting aside the recognition of Uzodimma and directing INEC to publish his name as the party’s duly nominated candidate.

Competing accounts of the votes

The dispute involved conflicting accounts of the primary’s outcome.

While the result announced by the APC gave Uzodimma 230,464 votes and Okorocha 1,098, an affidavit attached to Okorocha’s court case alleged that the former governor secured 150,780 votes, against 102,158 for Uzodimma. The figures in the affidavit differed substantially from those announced by the party.

The disagreement escalated in October when INEC petitioned the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force over a document circulating on social media that purported to show Okorocha as the winner.

The commission said the disputed document differed from the result report submitted to its national headquarters, which identified Uzodimma as the winner. It asked the security agencies to investigate the document and the circumstances surrounding its circulation.

The court’s October 29 judgment subsequently found that the evidence before it established Okorocha’s victory. The ruling changed the legal position on the nomination, despite INEC’s earlier reliance on the result report naming Uzodimma.

Uzodimma’s eligibility also featured in the case

Beyond the disagreement over the votes, Okorocha raised a constitutional question about Uzodimma’s eligibility to contest the senatorial election while serving as governor.

The suit cited Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, which restricts a sitting governor from holding another executive office or paid employment during the period in office. Uzodimma began his second term as governor in January 2024, with his tenure due to end in January 2028, while the next National Assembly is scheduled to be inaugurated in 2027.

The court’s reported orders centred on the outcome of the primary and the recognition of the party’s candidate. The available reports do not establish that the judgment resolved every broader constitutional question raised in the suit.

What the ruling means for the 2027 election

The court directed the APC to forward Okorocha’s name to INEC and ordered the commission to recognise and publish him as the party’s candidate for Imo West. It also restrained Uzodimma from continuing to present himself as the party’s nominee for the contest scheduled for January 16, 2027.

The ruling places the APC under an obligation to act in accordance with the court’s orders and requires INEC to address the nomination in line with the judgment. Any appeal or further court order could affect the subsequent legal process.

The dispute also highlights the importance of clear documentation and consistent reporting in party primaries. Where a party’s announced result, election-monitoring records and documents submitted to the electoral commission are contested, the process for reconciling those accounts becomes central to determining who was validly nominated.

For now, the Federal High Court has ruled in Okorocha’s favour. Whether the dispute proceeds to an appeal, and how the APC and INEC implement the orders, will determine the next stage of the contest for the Imo West senatorial seat.