The APC has rejected the implications of a Federal High Court judgment removing Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as its candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 elections. The ruling, delivered in Abuja on Thursday, October 29, 2026, recognised former governor Rochas Okorocha as the winner of the party’s disputed senatorial primary and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise him instead.
The Imo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), however, insists that Uzodimma remains its candidate, saying he won the primary with overwhelming support from party members.
APC Rejects Court Ruling on Uzodimma
In a statement issued on Thursday, the party’s State Publicity Secretary, Onwuasoanya FCC Jones, addressed reports of a change in the party’s senatorial candidate.
The APC maintained that Uzodimma legitimately secured the ticket and said its legal department would examine the court’s decision before determining its next steps.
“The party wishes to state without any confusion that His Excellency Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, CON, remains the candidate of our Party for Imo West Senatorial District, having won the primaries of our great party with the overwhelming support of the majority of our party members,” the statement read.
The party also urged its members to remain focused on its activities across Imo State rather than be distracted by reports surrounding the nomination.
Although the APC reaffirmed Uzodimma’s candidacy, it did not announce an appeal or specify what legal action it would take against the judgment.
Why Okorocha Took APC and INEC to Court
The dispute arose from the APC’s senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Okorocha challenged INEC’s decision to recognise Uzodimma as the winner, filing suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026 against the electoral commission, the APC and the governor.
In his suit, the former governor asked the court to determine whether INEC was bound by the reports submitted by its officials who monitored the primary. He also challenged the legality of publishing Uzodimma’s name as the winner and sought an order directing INEC to recognise him instead.
According to the evidence presented in Okorocha’s case, his son, Amen Rochas, who served as his personal assistant on political matters, said the former governor won the direct primary with 150,780 votes, while Uzodimma received 102,158 votes.
However, the APC’s announced result and INEC’s earlier position differed sharply. The governor and the party maintained that Uzodimma won with 230,464 votes, against 1,098 votes for Okorocha.
That disagreement over the result and the documents supporting the competing claims became central to the legal battle.
What the Federal High Court Ruled
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled in Okorocha’s favour, holding that the evidence before him established that the former governor won the May 18 primary.
The judge consequently ordered Uzodimma to stop presenting himself as the APC’s candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 elections.
He also directed the APC to submit Okorocha’s name to INEC and ordered the electoral commission to recognise and publish the former governor as the party’s candidate.
The judgment therefore went beyond acknowledging the disagreement between the aspirants. It set aside INEC’s earlier recognition of Uzodimma and directed the relevant parties to act on the court’s determination of the primary result.
The APC’s subsequent statement does not, by itself, overturn those orders. Its legal department’s review and any further proceedings will be important to the next stage of the dispute.
Why APC and INEC Opposed Okorocha’s Suit
Before the judgment, both the APC and Uzodimma challenged the suit, arguing that it was filed outside the 14-day deadline prescribed for pre-election matters under Section 285(9) of the Nigerian Constitution.
Their position was that the case was statute-barred and should be dismissed without proceeding on the substantive dispute over the primary.
INEC also opposed Okorocha’s claims. The commission maintained that its officials monitored the primary and that its report identified Uzodimma as the winner. It further stated that it had not received a complaint from any aspirant concerning the exercise.
Despite these objections, Justice Egwuatu ruled in Okorocha’s favour after considering the evidence before the court.
The judgment thus addressed the competing claims over the primary’s outcome, while rejecting the position advanced by the governor and the party in their objections.
What the Judgment Means for the 2027 Election
The ruling places Okorocha at the centre of the APC’s Imo West senatorial nomination and requires the party and INEC to recognise the court’s decision.
Okorocha governed Imo State from 2011 to 2019 and represented Imo West in the Senate from 2019 to 2023. Uzodimma, who is serving his second term as governor, had also sought the party’s nomination for the senatorial seat.
The immediate issue is whether the APC will challenge the judgment through further legal proceedings and how INEC will implement the court’s directives.
For now, the positions remain in conflict: the court has declared Okorocha the winner of the primary and issued orders concerning his nomination, while the Imo APC continues to insist that Uzodimma remains its candidate.
The party’s legal review will be a key next step in determining how the dispute proceeds ahead of the 2027 general elections.
