JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, quashed the nomination of Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State as the 2027 All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District elections.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a ruling, ordered Uzodimma to stop standing as a candidate on the grounds that he had not won the May 18 primary elections conducted by the APC and monitored by INEC.
Justice Egwuatu found that the evidence presented before the court showed that former governor Rochas Okorocha had indeed obtained the majority of votes cast at the polls.
The judge ordered that Okorocha be declared the winner of the election.
He also directed the APC to forward the name of Okorocha as the party’s candidate for the 2027 general elections for Imo West Senatorial District.
Okorocha, in the suit, had challenged INEC over the publication of Uzodimma’s name as the APC candidate for Imo West senatorial district.
In the original summons filed on August 13 and marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, the former legislator joined INEC, APC and Uzodimma as the 1st and 3rd respondents respectively.
The applicant, who is also a two-term governor of Imo, posed five questions for the determination.
He prayed the court to determine whether INEC was not bound by the reports of its officials who monitored the APC primaries duly conducted on May 18 for the nomination of its candidate for Imo West Senatorial District for the 2027 general elections in which he emerged winner.
He also prayed the court to rule that having regard to the provision of Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the publication of Uzodimma’s name by INEC on August 1 as the winner of the APC primaries for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 poll was not unlawful.
Okorocha, therefore, asked for 10 compensation in case his questions were answered in his favour.
The former governor prayed the court to declare that by virtue of the provisions of sections 65(1) (b) and 285(14) (a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution read with sections 29, 32, 33, 84 and 88(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, as well as the rules and guidelines of the APC governing the conduct of its national primary elections, it was illegal for the party forward Uzodimma’s name to INEC.
He urged the court to declare it unconstitutional that INEC published, as it did on August 18, Uzodimma’s name as the candidate of the APC when he was not the one who emerged as winner of the primary elections held on May 18.
He sought an order quashing or nullifying the publication made by INEC on August 1 declaring Uzodimma as the person who polled the highest votes in the APC primary elections held on May 18 to contest as the preferred candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in 2027.
Okorocha prayed to the court for an order directing INEC to recognize and publish his name as a duly nominated candidate of the APC to contest the poll.
He also sought an ordinance prohibiting Uzodinma, alone or through the APC or anyone else, by whatever name, from standing as a nominated candidate of the party to contest the election.
He also asked for the defendants to be ordered to pay such costs as the noble court deems appropriate in all the circumstances of the case.
In the affidavit attached to the lawsuit filed by Amen Rochas, she said Okorocha is her biological father.
He said that by virtue of his position as Okorocha’s personal assistant on political matters, he was very familiar with the facts and circumstances stated by him.
He said the applicant (Okorocha), born September 22, 1962, is a registered member and financial card holder of APC.
According to him, the applicant hails from Ideato Local Government Area of Imo State in Imo West Senatorial District.
He said: “From 2011 to 2019, the appellant was the Executive Governor of Imo State.
“From 2019 to 2023, he was a Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, the office of which is a paid employment of the Legislative Arm of the Government of the Federated Republic of Nigeria.”
Amen said that earlier this year, the APC publicized its program of activities and timetable for the conduct of its primaries which would lead to the emergence of its flag bearers in Imo for various political offices to be filled by INEC before 2027.
He said according to the APC advertorial, Okorocha has expressed interest in being appointed as the party’s flag bearer in the Senate for Imo West senatorial zone.
He stated that he had purchased the Expression of Interest (EoI) form and application form which were duly filled by him and his nominees as required and submitted to APC.
Amen said Uzodimma is also a member of the APC, also from the same senatorial district and the current governor of Imo.
He declared that Uzodimma’s tenure as governor will expire at midnight on January 14, 2028, after he was sworn in and sworn in on January 15, 2024.
He said Uzodimma, whose term as governor would not expire by 2027, when the Senate will be inaugurated after the 2027 general elections, also purchased an EoI and nomination forms for the party’s senatorial candidate.
He said his father, Uzodimma and several other APC aspirants were all selected and allowed to contest the direct primaries.
Amen said that on May 17, contrary to existing electoral and party guidelines, the APC National Working Committee (NWC), through its National Organizing Secretary, issued an advisory, warning all state chairmen of the National Assembly Primary Elections Committee not to engage in any press conference 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 the same would be announced at the national secretariat
He said the direct primary elections were conducted by the APC on May 18 and his father emerged victorious by polling 150,780 votes while Uzodimma polled 102,158 votes.
He said after the poll in which Okorocha was reported to have won, the 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 on the outcome of the elections was compiled and forwarded by the Head of Department, Election and Party Monitoring (EPM) for INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Imo to the Chairman of the Commission in Abuja.
He said the party primary election outcome presented to INEC, in respect of Imo West senatorial zone, was not made public upon receipt by the electoral umpire until August 1.
He said, to Okorocha’s shock and chagrin, that INEC, instead of publishing the true result of the poll won by his father, as confirmed by the commission’s own reports, strangely published Uzodinma’s name as the winner.
But Uzodimma and APC did not agree with Okorocha’s arguments.
The governor and the party, in their separate preliminary objections, prayed the court to dismiss the state disqualification suit for failing to comply with section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution.
Robort Emukpoeruo, SAN, who appeared for APC and Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, who represented Uzodimma, argued that the suit was filed outside the 14-day period prescribed by law.
In the counter affidavit filed by Lucky Ajokperiniovo on behalf of the governor, he said he was part of the election committee constituted by the party to conduct the May 18 primary elections in the state.
He said the votes were recorded, collated and duly transmitted from the voting centers in the wards, the respective LGA collation centres, and then handed over to the polling officer of the senatorial district who ultimately collated and declared the results.
Ajokperiniovo said while Uzodimma won the Imo West Senatorial District poll, Alex Mbata won the Imo East Senatorial District poll and Senator Patrick Ndubueze was declared winner of the Imo North Senatorial District poll.
According to him, the election report was duly signed by all members of the election committee on May 18, 2026.
He said no one, especially the aspirants, had any doubts about the outcome of the elections that day.
“From the conduct of the elections, I am aware that the third respondent (Uzodinma) emerged victorious with 230,464 votes, while the appellant (Okorocha) secured 1,098 votes,” he said.
Ajokperiniovo said that although an appeals commission for the elections had been established, the commission had not received any petitions regarding the outcome of the primaries.
He said the elections were held in substantial compliance with the Constitution and guidelines of the APC and the Electoral Law of 2026.
The official, who said Okorocha had grossly and deliberately misrepresented what happened, said Uzodinma “is not now in gainful employment in the legislative arm of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
INEC lawyer, MA Umar, also adopted his counter affidavit in opposition to Okorocha’s suit.
INEC, in its counter-affidavit, said its officials monitored the elections and submitted a report and that the report indicated that Uzodinma had obtained the highest number of votes and was declared the winner.
The commission said it had not received any complaints from any of the candidates about the poll.
Gyang Dung, an Assistant Chief Legal Officer, who testified at the INEC counter affidavit, denied having signed any of the documents presented by Okorocha as evidence before the court.
