The table turned yesterday in Imo West Senatorial District.
A Federal High Court in Abuja declared former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha as the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate and ordered Governor Hope Uzodimma to desist from parading himself as flag bearer.
The court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise and publish Okorocha’s name as candidate for the January 16, 2027 election.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a judgment, said the evidence presented before the court showed that Okorocha actually won the majority of the votes cast at the primary, adding that he should be recognised as the winner of the election.
He ordered Uzodinma to immediately stop presenting himself as the candidate for the same seat because he did not win the primary conducted by the party on May 18 and monitored by INEC.
The judge ordered the APC to forward Okorocha’s name to the electoral commission as its candidate.
Apart from rejecting the outcome of the primary, Okorocha had also challenged the constitutional propriety of Uzodimma’s involvement in the primary while his tenure as governor would run until January 2028.
He hailed the judgment, describing it as the triumph of democracy and the rule of law.
Okorocha advised Uzodimma not to appeal it, adding that he should concentrate on his current mandate as governor.
But Uzodimma rejected the verdict, describing it as the travesty of justice.
A statement by Imo State Information, Public Orientation and Strategy Commissioner Declan Emelumba said the governor will appeal the judgment.
Also, Imo APC, in its reaction, insisted that the governor is its candidate for the West District.
Uzodimma’s nomination faulty, say judge
Justice Egwuatu held that Uzodimma’s nomination breached Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act and failed to comply with the APC’s guidelines for conducting primaries.
He declared that it was unlawful and fraudulent for the party to have forwarded Uzodimma’s name to INEC as the winner of a primary he did not win.
The judge said: ‘The publication of Hope Uzodimma’s name by INEC as the winner of the primary election is wrongful and unlawful.
‘The INEC publication of the name of Hope Uzodimma on August 1 as APC senatorial candidate for Imo West is hereby set aside and in its place, INEC is ordered to restore the name of Rochas Okorocha.’
The judge faulted INEC for accepting Uzodimma’s nomination, despite the existence of overwhelming documentary evidence indicating that the governor was not the lawful winner of the primary.
He held that ‘Rochas Okorocha is the lawful winner and is entitled to have his name submitted to INEC.’
The judge further held that INEC was bound by the report of its own officials, which clearly established that Okorocha won the primary.
Justice Egwuatu questioned the authenticity and consistency of the documents submitted by the APC to justify Uzodimma’s nomination.
The judge said: ‘Majority of the documents tendered by APC to support the purported nomination of Uzodimma (3rd respondent) contradicts each other, indicating that they were clearly fabricated for the unlawful purpose of nominating the 3rd respondent as candidate.
‘In view of the doubt cast on the authenticity of the documents, the court cannot ascribe probative value to the purported documents.’
Justice Egwuatu added that the documents signed, certified and released to Okorocha, following a formal request, showed that the former governor secured the majority of lawful votes cast in the primary across the 10 local governments that make up the senatorial district.
The judge noted discrepancies in the accounts given by different APC officials on how the primary was conducted.
He said one document submitted by the party indicated that Option A4 was used for the exercise, while another document from a member of the party’s National Working Committee (NEC) claimed that a consensus arrangement produced Uzodimma as the candidate.
Justice Egwuatu said another document from a different NWC member, however, claimed that a direct primary was conducted for the same election.
He described the conflicting accounts as significant, particularly because votes were reportedly allocated to the aspirants, despite the claim that Uzodimma emerged through consensus.
The judge subsequently ordered the APC to forward Okorocha’s name to INEC and directed the commission to replace Uzodimma’s name with that of the former governor.
Okorocha: It’s triumph of democracy
Okorocha hailed the judgment, describing it as a victory for democracy and the rule of law.
He said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemeodo, that the judgment affirmed his position on the disputed APC ticket for the senatorial district.
Okorocha noted that the court granted all the reliefs sought, declared him the authentic APC candidate and directed the INEC) to enlist his name.
He said the judgment had reinforced public confidence in the judiciary, describing the courts as the last hope of both the common man and the uncommon man.
Okorocha said: ‘This judgment, to say the least, is a resounding victory for the nation’s judiciary. It is a victory for the nation’s fast-growing democracy and the Constitution, as amended.’
The former governor noted what he described as a spontaneous jubilation across Imo State, particularly in Imo West Senatorial District, following the court’s decision, assuring supporters that their excitement would not be taken for granted.
Okorocha thanked President Bola Tinubu for providing an enabling environment for the judiciary and other institutions to function, while commending the APC leadership for respecting members’ legitimate aspirations and constitutional rights.
He said Uzodinma should not appeal judgment, adding that he should focus on the task of governance in the state.
Okorocha, who spoke on Channels Television last night, said Uzodinma had no convincing legal grounds to pursue an appeal, insisting that the court had settled the dispute over who won the primary.
He said: ‘I appeal to Governor Uzodinma to face his governance till January 2028.’
Okorocha said the governor’s ambition to become a senator, while still serving as governor raises questions about the propriety of seeking another public office before completing his current tenure.
He said the Senate would begin its work in 2027, months before Uzodinma’s tenure as governor expires in January 2028.
Okorocha added: ‘If that has been allowed, that would mean Uzodinma would be holding a paid job and seeking for another paid job.’
Citing Section 138 of the Constitution, the former governor argued that an incumbent governor could not hold two paid public offices simultaneously.
Okorocha said argued that the judgment had settled questions surrounding the conduct of the APC primary and the documents submitted to support Uzodinma’s nomination.
The former governor accused Uzodinma of manipulating electoral outcomes, claiming that Uzodimma’s victories were not based on genuine voting.
He said the court’s decision as evidence that the judiciary remained independent.
Okorocha added: ‘Thank God that the judiciary is not for sale and he has met his waterloo with the judgment today,’ Okorocha said.
Okorocha also dismissed the Imo APC and the state government’s declaration that Uzodinma remained its candidate for the senatorial election.
He said he had no business with either the Imo state government or the state chapter of APC because he did not sue them.
The former governor described the judgment as a turning point in Imo politics, saying it had broken the shackles of oppression in the state.
He described himself as the founding father of the APC in Imo, adding that Uzodinma cannot match his record as governor.
‘No one has taken the level of insults I have suffered,’ he said, lamenting his treatment within the party.
Uzodimma will appeal, says Emelumba
Emelumba, who spoke on behalf of the governor, said he will appeal the judgment.
He said the judgment disregarded existing Supreme Court pronouncements on the proper procedure for handling allegations of forgery and perjury.
Elulumba also said the court’s decision to order the publication of Okorocha as the winner of the primary was inconsistent with established legal principles and previous decisions of the apex court.
He said the trial judge was presented with Supreme Court judgments holding that matters involving forgery and perjury could not be determined through an originating summons.
Emelumba alleged that, despite the authorities cited before the court, the judge proceeded to deliver judgment in Okorocha’s favour based on affidavit evidence involving documents he described as forged.
He also faulted the court’s handling of the preliminary objection on the time limit for filing election-related cases, citing the Supreme Court decision in Orji v. Chima, requires a litigant seeking to be declared the winner of a primary to institute proceedings within 14 days.
The commissioner said the APC primary for Imo West was conducted on May 18, 2026, while Okorocha filed his suit on August 13, 2026, a period of 87 days after the exercise.
He argued that the delay should have been considered in determining the court’s jurisdiction, particularly because the central issue before the judge was who won the primary.
Emelumba said the governor and his supporters would pursue the available legal remedies to challenge the judgment, insisting that they remained committed to the rule of law.
He said: ‘As law-abiding citizens, we would explore the judicial avenues available to set aside the Federal High Court ruling and recover our mandate.’
Arewa group hails verdict
The Convener of Arewa Youth for Peaceful Coexistence, Haruna Bature, hailed the court for ordering INEC to recognise Okorocha as candidate.
Bature accused Uzodimma of attempting to manipulate the party’s nomination, despite losing the primary.
Bature said: ‘INEC’s own monitoring report showed Okorocha scored 150,780 votes against Uzodimma’s 102,158 votes, yet APC officials declared Uzodimma winner with 230,464 fake votes.’
The group convener questioned how Uzodimma, whom he described as the APC leader in the South-East and chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, could allegedly fail to secure the party’s ticket through the primary election.
Bature also accused the governor of pursuing a senatorial seat ahead of the end of his tenure in January 2028, alleging that his political ambition was distracting him from the governance.