Breaking: Drama as Court Sacks NDC Senatorial Candidate
- A Federal High Court in Abuja ruled on the senatorial candidacy of the NDC for Imo East ahead of the January 2027 election
- Justice Mohammed Umar found that the NDC violated the Electoral Act 2026 by bypassing the outcome of an INEC-monitored primary
- The court issued a perpetual injunction barring both the NDC and INEC from accepting any candidate who did not emerge from a valid primary
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Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has removed Hon. Onyeagucha Uchechukwu as the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) senatorial candidate for Imo East Senatorial District and directed the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Uche Nwole as the lawfully nominated candidate for the 2027 general election.
The ruling, delivered in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1225/2026, named the NDC, INEC and Hon. Onyeagucha Uchechukwu as the first to third defendants respectively. Nwole had filed the suit claiming that, despite winning the highest number of valid votes in the party's primary election, the NDC bypassed him and handed the senatorial ticket to the third defendant.
Court finds NDC violated electoral act
Justice Umar said he was satisfied, after examining all the evidence before him, that Nwole was the genuine winner of a primary election that INEC duly monitored. Citing Sections 84(1), 84(2) and 86 of the Electoral Act 2026, the judge held that the NDC was legally required to forward Nwole's name to INEC as its candidate for the Imo East senatorial poll.
The court further held that the party had no power to nominate a consensus candidate in place of whoever emerged from an INEC-supervised primary. All seven principal reliefs sought by the plaintiff were granted.
What INEC has been ordered to do
Justice Umar ordered INEC to publish Nwole's name without delay, in the same manner the commission had already published the names of candidates from other political parties, ahead of the January 16, 2027 election.
Beyond the substitution order, the court issued a perpetual injunction barring the NDC from putting forward any other name for the seat. INEC was similarly restrained from accepting, listing or publishing the name of any purported NDC candidate who emerged from a primary that the commission never monitored, or any consensus candidate whose nomination contravened Sections 87(1) and 87(3) of the Electoral Act 2026.
Source: Legit.ng
