Photo: L-R Okorocha and Gov Uzodimma
By: Mandy Park
Former Imo State Governor and former Imo West Senator, Rochas Okorocha, has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Hope Uzodimma and the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the Federal High Court in Abuja over the party’s 2027 Imo West Senatorial ticket.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, was filed on August 13, 2026, by Okorocha’s counsel, O.J. Aboje.
Okorocha is challenging INEC’s recognition and publication of Uzodimma as the APC candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District, insisting that he won the party’s direct primary held on May 18, 2026.
The former governor is asking the court to determine, among other issues, whether INEC is bound by the reports of its officials who monitored the APC primary and whether the commission acted lawfully in publishing Uzodimma’s name as the party’s candidate.
He is also challenging Uzodimma’s eligibility to contest the senatorial election while still serving as governor, relying on Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Okorocha is consequently seeking an order setting aside INEC’s publication of Uzodimma’s name and directing the electoral commission to recognise and publish his own name as the duly nominated APC candidate for the 2027 Imo West senatorial election.
He is further asking the court to restrain Uzodimma, either personally or through the APC or any other person, from presenting or parading himself as the party’s candidate for the election.
He also wants the court to award costs against the respondents.
The legal action has thrown into dispute the result of the May 18 APC senatorial primary.
The officially announced result at the time showed Uzodimma defeating Okorocha by a wide margin. The Chairman and Returning Officer of the APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee, Rear Admiral Williams Kayoda (retd.), declared Uzodimma winner with 230,464 votes, while Okorocha was credited with 1,098 votes.
However, in the affidavit filed in support of Okorocha’s suit, Amen Rochas, identified as the former governor’s son and Personal Assistant on Political Matters, alleged that a different result emerged from the direct primary.
According to the affidavit, Okorocha scored 150,780 votes against Uzodimma’s 102,158 votes and therefore emerged the winner of the exercise.
The conflicting accounts of the primary result are expected to be central to the legal battle.
Another major issue before the court is whether Uzodimma can simultaneously remain governor and pursue the senatorial mandate ahead of the 2027 election.
Uzodimma began his second term as governor in January 2024, and his tenure is expected to end in January 2028. The 11th National Assembly, however, is expected to be inaugurated in June 2027, months before the expiration of his tenure.
Okorocha contends that the constitutional provision restricting a sitting governor from holding another executive office or paid employment has implications for Uzodimma’s senatorial ambition.
The court will therefore be asked to determine the legal implications of Uzodimma’s candidacy and the timing of the transition between his governorship and any possible Senate mandate.
Okorocha served as Imo State governor from 2011 to 2019 and subsequently represented Imo West in the Senate from 2019 to 2023.
Uzodimma, who also previously represented Imo West in the Senate, is seeking a return to the National Assembly after completing his second term as governor.
The suit is likely to deepen the political contest within the APC in Imo State, with the outcome potentially determining who will fly the party’s flag in the influential Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election.
