Nigeria’s Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma 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 Uzodimma did not win the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026, and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In his judgment in suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, the judge held that evidence presented before the court showed that former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha secured the majority of votes cast during the primary.
The court consequently directed the APC to submit Okorocha’s name to INEC as its candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District election in the 2027 general elections.
The judgment followed a suit filed by Okorocha against INEC over the commission’s publication of Uzodimma’s name as the APC candidate for the senatorial district.
According to Politics Nigeria, Okorocha’s counsel, O.J. Aboje, filed the originating summons at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, 2026.
Okorocha, who governed Imo State from 2011 to 2019, represented the state in the Senate between 2019 and 2023. He contested the APC senatorial ticket against Uzodimma in May 2026.
During the primary, chairman and returning officer of the APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee, Williams Kayode, declared Uzodimma the winner with 230,464 votes.
Okorocha, however, challenged the result, claiming he secured 150,780 votes against Uzodimma’s 102,158 votes.