A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha the All Progressives Congress candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to publish his name.
The decision was delivered by Justice Egwuatu of Court 11, according to reports. It followed a suit filed by Okorocha challenging the recognition of Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as the party’s candidate.
Details of the judgment, including the court’s specific findings and orders, were not immediately available.
Okorocha approached the court after the APC’s May 18, 2026, senatorial primary, in which Uzodimma was declared the winner. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, listed INEC, Uzodimma and the APC as respondents.
Okorocha filed the originating summons on August 13, 2026, through his counsel, O.J. Aboje. He 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 publishing Uzodimma’s name.
In the suit, Okorocha argued that Uzodimma’s candidacy raised constitutional questions because the governor’s tenure would not expire until January 2028, while the 11th National Assembly is scheduled to be inaugurated in June 2027.
He cited Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that a sitting governor cannot hold another executive office or paid employment while in office.
Okorocha sought a declaration that the publication of Uzodimma’s name was wrongful and unconstitutional, an order setting aside the publication, and a directive that INEC recognise and publish his own name as the party’s duly nominated candidate. He also sought an order restraining Uzodimma, the APC or anyone acting on their behalf from presenting the governor as the candidate.
In an affidavit attached to the suit, Amen Rochas, the former governor’s son, alleged that Okorocha won the May 18 primary with 150,780 votes, while Uzodimma scored 102,158 votes. However, Williams Kayode, chairman and returning officer of the APC’s 2026 Imo National Assembly Primary Election Committee, had declared Uzodimma the winner with 230,464 votes.
Uzodimma was sworn in for a second term as governor in January 2024, with his tenure scheduled to end in January 2028.
