The Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as the Imo West senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 common elections and changed him with Rochas Okorocha.
In a judgement on Thursday, Judge Obiora Egwuatu ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the identify of Mr Okorocha, a former governor of the state who was beforehand elected to signify the district within the Nigerian Senate, as the validly nominated candidate of the APC for the upcoming senatorial election.
The Punch reported that the decide directed Mr Uzodimma, chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, a peer-review group of APC governors, to cease parading himself as the APC candidate for the 16 January 2027 election.
The decide ordered the APC to ahead Mr Okorocha’s identify as candidate of the occasion for the 2027 common elections for Imo West Senatorial District.
Mr Egwuatu issued the orders in a go well with filed by Mr Okorocha difficult Mr Uzodimma’s nomination.
The decide dominated that enough proof offered by Mr Okorocha confirmed that he, and never Mr Uzodimma, received the 18 May APC major election monitored by INEC.
Mr Uzodimma reserves the correct to enchantment the judgement within the case which is probably going to attain the Supreme Court for final decision.
Mr Okorocha beforehand served as a senator representing the Imo West senatorial district from June 2019 to June 2023 throughout the ninth Nigerian Senate.
His election to the senate adopted his eight years as governor between May 2011 and May 2019.
His bid to return to the Senate has intensified the longtime rivalry between him and Mr Uzodimma, who turned governor by means of a controversial Supreme Court judgement in January 2020 regardless of the then-incumbent governor Okorocha backing one other candidate to succeed him.
Mr Uzodimma is in his second and ultimate four-year time period as governor, which ought to run until January 2028. If he finally prevails within the senatorial contest, he should resign as governor and forfeit the remaining six months of his tenure to take up the senatorial seat.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reviews that Mr Okorocha, in his go well with, challenged the INEC over the publication of Mr Uzodinma’s identify as APC’s candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District.
Mr Okorocha filed the go well with marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026 on 13 August, becoming a member of INEC, APC and Mr Uzodinma as respondents.
He urged the courtroom to decide whether or not INEC was not certain by the reviews of its officers who monitored the APC major election duly performed on 18 May for the nomination of its candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District for the 2027 common elections by which he emerged the winner.
He additionally prayed the courtroom to maintain that the publication of Mr Uzodinma’s identify by INEC on 1 August as winner of APC major for the Imo West Senatorial District for the 2027 ballot was wrongful.
Mr Okorocha urged the courtroom to, amongst his 10 prayers, declare that it was illegal for the occasion to ahead MrUzodinma’s identify to INEC.
He urged the courtroom to declare that it was unconstitutional for INEC to publish, as accomplished on 18 August, Mr Uzodinma’s identify as APC’s candidate when it was not him that emerged as the winner of the first election performed on 18 May.
He sought an order setting apart or voiding the publication made by INEC on Aug. 1 which declared Uzodinma as the individual that received the best votes within the APC’s major election held on May 18 to contest as the popular candidate for Imo West Senatorial District come 2027.
Mr Okorocha prayed the courtroom for an order directing INEC to recognise and publish his identify as the duly nominated candidate of APC to contest the ballot.
He additionally sought an order prohibiting Mr Uzodinma whether or not by himself or by means of the APC or anybody, nonetheless named, from parading himself as the nominated candidate of the occasion to contest the election.
He equally sought an order awarding price in opposition to the respondents as the noble courtroom might deem acceptable in all of the circumstances of the go well with.
Okorocha’s case
Mr Okorocha’s son, Amen Rochas, gave an account of how the previous governor emerged as the APC’s senatorial candidate in an affidavit filed in help of the go well with.
Amen, who described himself as Mr Okorocha’s private assistant on political issues, mentioned his father, born on 22 September 1962 and a registered APC member, received the direct major election performed by APC on 18 May after polling 150,780 whereas Mr Uzodinma scored 102,158 votes.
He mentioned after the ballot, the APC wrote two letters to INEC reporting on the conduct of the primaries with the hooked up checklist of contestants and the result of the primaries.
Amen mentioned the report of the result of the election was made and forwarded by the Head of Department, Election and Party Monitoring (EPM) for the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC for Imo to the fee’s chairman in Abuja.
He averred that the result of the occasion’s major election as submitted by it to INEC, in respect of the Imo West Senatorial Zone, was not made public upon receipt by the electoral umpire till 1 August.
He mentioned to Mr Okorocha’s shock and chagrin, INEC, fairly than publishing the true final result of the ballot which his father received as confirmed by the fee’s personal reviews, unusually revealed Mr Uzodinma’s identify as the winner.
In his account of the lead-up to the first election, Amen recalled that the APC marketed earlier this yr its schedule of actions and timetable for the conduct of its primaries that might lead to the emergence of its candidates in Imo State for varied political places of work to be performed by INEC forward of 2027.
He mentioned pursuant to APC’s advertorial, Mr Okorocha, who hails from Ideato Local Government Area of Imo State in Imo West Senatorial District and is a monetary card-carrying member of APC, expressed curiosity to be nominated as the occasion’s flagbearer to the Senate for the Imo West Senatorial Zone.
He mentioned he bought the Expression of Interest Form (EoI) and the Nomination Form which have been duly accomplished by him and by his nominees as required thereof and submitted to APC.
Amen said that Mr Uzodinma, who can be a member of APC from the identical senatorial district as Mr Okorocha, and whose tenure in workplace as governor wouldn’t have expired by the yr 2027 when the Senate will probably be inaugurated after the final election in 2027, additionally bought an EoI and nomination varieties for occasion’s senatorial candidate.
He mentioned his father, Mr Uzodinma and lots of different APC aspirants have been all screened and cleared to take part within the direct primaries.
Amen averred that on 17 May, opposite to extant electoral and occasion’s tips, the APC National Working Committee (NWC), by means of its National Organising Secretary, issued a discover, warning all state’s chairmen of its National Assembly Primary Election Committee not to interact in any press briefing or announce the result of the primaries.
He mentioned the NWC directed that the outcomes needs to be forwarded to the occasion’s nationwide secretariat as the identical could be introduced on the nationwide secretariat which culminated within the announcement of Mr Uzodimma’s identify.
APC, Uzodimma opposition
Mr Uzodinma and APC disagreed with Mr Okorocha’s arguments.
The governor and the occasion, of their separate preliminary objections, prayed the courtroom to dismiss the go well with for being statute-barred, having failed to adjust to Section 285(9) of the Nigerian structure.
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Robort Emukpoeruo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who appeared for APC, and Onyechi Ikpeazu, additionally a SAN, who represented mr Uzodinma, submitted that the go well with was filed outdoors the 14-day time restrict prescribed by the legislation.
In the counter-affidavit by Lucky Ajokperiniovo on the governor’s behalf, he mentioned he was a part of the election committee constituted by the occasion to conduct the 18 May major election within the state.
He mentioned the votes have been recorded, collated and duly transmitted from the voting venues on the wards, the respective LGAs collation centres, after which delivered to the senatorial district returning officer who lastly collated and declared the outcomes.
Mr Ajokperiniovo averred that whereas Mr Uzodinma received the Imo West Senatorial District ballot, Alex Mbata received the Imo East Senatorial District election and Sen. Patrick Ndubueze was declared the winner of Imo North Senatorial District ballot.
According to him, the report of the election was duly signed by all of the members of the electoral committee, on 18 May.
He mentioned no individual, particularly the aspirants, was doubtful as to the results of the election on that day.
“From the conduct of the election, I am aware that the 3rd respondent (Uzodinma) emerged victorious with 230,464 votes, while the applicant (Okorocha) scored 1, 098 votes,” he mentioned.
Mr Ajokperiniovo mentioned although an enchantment committee was arrange on the election, the panel didn’t obtain any petition in respect of the result of the first.
He submitted that the election was performed in substantial compliance with the APC’s Constitution and tips and the Electoral Act, 2026.
The official alleged that Mr Okorocha had grossly and intentionally misrepresented what transpired.
He mentioned Mr Uzodinma “is not now occupying a paid employment of the legislative arm of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
INEC’s opposition
INEC’s lawyer, M. A. Umar, additionally opposed Mr Okorocha’s go well with.
In its counter-affidavit, the electoral physique mentioned its officers monitored the election and submitted a report and that the report indicated that Mr Uzodinma scored the best variety of votes and was declared the winner.
The fee mentioned that it didn’t obtain any criticism from any of the aspirants in respect of the ballot.
Gyang Dung, an Assistant Chief Legal Officer, who deposed to the INEC’s counter affidavit, denied signing any of the reveals Mr Okorocha tendered as proof earlier than the courtroom.
(NAN)
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