The battle for the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial ticket for Imo West has taken a new turn with the emergence of a Certified True Copy (CTC) of an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) monitoring report. The report, dated June 16, 2026, lists former Imo State Governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha, as the winner of the party's May 18, 2026 primary with 150,780 votes. This contradicts the result announced by the APC's returning officer, which declared Governor Hope Uzodimma the winner with 230,464 votes.
According to the INEC report, the commission monitored the APC senatorial primaries conducted simultaneously across the three senatorial districts of Imo State. The report stated that the exercise commenced at about 2:30 p.m. and was conducted through direct primary, with INEC officials monitoring the process. The report listed Alexander Mbata as winner of the Imo East primary with 121,680 votes, Okorocha as winner in Imo West with 150,780 votes, and Patrick Chiwuba Ndubueze as winner of Imo North with 108,826 votes.
The INEC report was signed by Gyang D. Dung, Team Lead, Imo Monitoring Team, and certified as a true copy by the relevant INEC office in Abuja. The Progressive Lawyers Forum (PLF) obtained the document and described it as a significant record in determining the rightful APC candidate for Imo West. The forum said the document raised fundamental questions over subsequent claims that another aspirant emerged from the primary.
The APC's returning officer, Rear Admiral Williams Kayode (rtd.), had declared Uzodimma the winner of the May 18 primary with 230,464 votes, while Okorocha was recorded with 1,098 votes in the result announced by the party. However, court papers filed by Okorocha contain a different account, with his supporting affidavit alleging that he scored 150,780 votes against Uzodimma's 102,158 votes.
Okorocha has filed a suit against INEC, Uzodimma, and the APC, seeking an order directing INEC to recognise and publish him as the duly nominated APC candidate for Imo West. The former governor is also asking the court to set aside INEC's publication of Uzodimma as the party's candidate and restrain him from presenting himself as the APC nominee for the senatorial election.
The Progressive Lawyers Forum urged all parties to allow the judiciary to determine the dispute, expressing confidence that the court would examine the competing electoral documents and applicable law before reaching its decision. The forum said the eventual judgment would determine the legally recognised outcome of the disputed APC primary and bring clarity to the battle over the Imo West senatorial ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Key points
- The INEC report lists Okorocha as the winner of the APC senatorial primary for Imo West with 150,780 votes.
- The APC's returning officer had declared Uzodimma the winner with 230,464 votes.
- Okorocha has filed a suit against INEC, Uzodimma, and the APC, seeking an order to recognise him as the duly nominated APC candidate for Imo West.
