The Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked Governor Hope Uzodinma as the All Progressives Congress candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 elections. Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the judgment on Thursday, 29 October.
The court held that Uzodinma did not win the APC primary conducted on 18 May. It found that Rochas Okorocha, the former governor, polled the highest number of lawful votes and should have been nominated. Justice Egwuatu ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise Okorocha and publish his name as the authentic candidate. The judge also barred Uzodinma from parading himself as the candidate for the 16 January 2027 election.
The vote figures are contested and revealing. Okorocha’s affidavit claims he polled 150,780 votes against Uzodinma’s 102,158. Uzodinma’s counter-affidavit claims he polled 230,464 against Okorocha’s 1,098. Those two accounts cannot both be true. The court preferred Okorocha’s evidence.
INEC published Uzodinma’s name on 1 August. Okorocha filed suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026 on 13 August, challenging that publication. His case rested on reports by INEC’s own monitoring officers, who observed the primary.
This mirrors the 2020 Supreme Court judgment that installed Uzodinma as governor after he placed fourth in the official results. That ruling was controversial and remains a grievance in Imo politics. The rivalry between Uzodinma and Okorocha has run since then. Okorocha backed another candidate to succeed him in 2019. Uzodinma took the seat through the courts. Now Okorocha has taken a Senate ticket through the courts.
The practical stakes are unusual. Uzodinma is in his second and final term as governor, which runs to January 2028. If he prevails on appeal and wins the Senate seat, he must resign as governor and forfeit the remaining six months. If Okorocha prevails, Uzodinma finishes his term as a lame duck with a rival holding the party’s senatorial structure.
Uzodinma retains the right of appeal. The case is likely to reach the Supreme Court. Until then, the APC has two men claiming one ticket and a state government whose authority is now entangled in its own litigation.
Winners and Losers
Winners: Okorocha, who gains legal validation and the party’s name on the ballot. The judiciary, which has again demonstrated its power to overturn party nominations. Lawyers, who will earn fees through at least two more rounds of appeal.
Losers: Uzodinma, whose political future now depends on appellate judges. The APC, which heads into a Senate race with a divided structure in its own stronghold. Imo voters, who face another election cycle shaped by courtrooms rather than campaigns.
Bottom Line: A court has chosen the candidate. Voters have not. Uzodinma will appeal, and the Supreme Court will decide. Imo West deserves a contest, not another judicial selection.