BREAKING: Court Declares Okorocha Winner of Imo West APC Primary, Orders INEC to Publish His Name
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu gave the order on Thursday, October 29, 2026, while delivering judgment in a suit filed by Okorocha challenging the recognition of Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as the party’s candidate for the senatorial district.
The court also directed Uzodimma to stop presenting himself as the APC candidate for the election.
According to the report of the judgment, Justice Egwuatu held that the evidence before the court established that Okorocha won the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026, and consequently ordered the party to submit his name to INEC.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, was filed against INEC, the APC and Uzodimma over the recognition of the governor as the party’s candidate for Imo West, also known as Orlu Zone.
Background to the dispute
The legal dispute followed conflicting claims over the outcome of the APC primary held in May.
The party’s returning officer, retired Rear Admiral Williams Kayode, had announced Uzodimma as the winner, declaring that the governor secured 230,464 votes against Okorocha’s 1,098 votes.
Okorocha challenged the result and INEC’s subsequent recognition of Uzodimma. He asked the court to determine whether the electoral commission was bound by the reports of its officials who monitored the primary and whether the publication of Uzodimma’s name as the party’s candidate was lawful.
The former governor also raised constitutional questions concerning Uzodimma’s eligibility to contest for the Senate while still serving as governor.
INEC’s earlier position
Before Thursday’s judgment, INEC had maintained that the official report submitted to the commission identified Uzodimma as the winner of the May 18 primary.
In October, the commission’s Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Chukwuemeka Ibeziako, petitioned security agencies over a separate document circulating that purported to identify Okorocha as the winner.
The commission described that document as fictitious and asked the Department of State Services and the police to investigate its circulation and authenticity.
The dispute over the documents formed part of the wider disagreement surrounding the primary result. The latest court ruling now directs INEC to recognise Okorocha, according to the report of the judgment.
The complete judgment has not yet been independently reviewed for this report. Further details, including the court’s full reasoning and any subsequent legal steps by the affected parties, remain to be confirmed.
