A Federal High Court in Owerri has restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from accepting any candidate nominated by the Nigeria Democratic Congress for the Imo East Senatorial District, citing the absence of a valid primary election.
Justice I. N. Oweibo delivered the ruling on Tuesday in a suit brought by five aspirants who contested the party’s process for selecting its candidate for the Owerri Zone seat. The judgment places the candidacy of Uche Onyeaguocha, the NDC’s submitted nominee, in serious doubt ahead of the January 16, 2027 National Assembly election.
The NDC had forwarded Onyeaguocha’s name to INEC, and the commission subsequently listed him among the published candidates. The five plaintiffs, who had purchased expression-of-interest forms and undergone screening, argued that the party never conducted a proper primary despite their participation and payment of N20 million each as a development fee.
In his judgment, Justice Oweibo held that the NDC failed to hold a primary election for Imo East in line with the required procedure. He therefore ordered INEC not to recognise any candidate presented by the party on the basis of the disputed process.
Onyeaguocha, a lawyer and former federal lawmaker, represented Owerri Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. He later served as Secretary to the Imo State Government under former Governor Emeka Ihedioha. In 2023 he contested the same senatorial seat on the Peoples Democratic Party platform but lost to Labour Party’s Ezenwa Onyewuchi.
The ruling creates an immediate legal obstacle for the NDC barely four months before the election.
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