Court Orders Uzodinma to Stop Claiming APC Imo West Senatorial Ticket

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma to stop presenting himself as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District election scheduled for January 16, 2027.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu issued the order after ruling that former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha won the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026.

The court held that evidence before it showed that Okorocha secured the majority of votes cast in the primary, which was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Consequently, the judge directed the APC to submit Okorocha’s name to INEC as its candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections.

The ruling followed a suit instituted by Okorocha against INEC, Uzodinma and the APC over the commission’s publication of the incumbent governor’s name as the party’s candidate.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, was filed on August 13, 2026, by Okorocha’s counsel, O.J. Aboje.

Okorocha had challenged the outcome of the primary, seeking the court’s determination on whether INEC was bound by the reports of its officials who monitored the exercise.

He also questioned the legality of the commission’s decision to publish Uzodinma’s name as the winner, arguing that the governor had not secured the party’s ticket.

The dispute arose after Williams Kayode, chairman and returning officer of the 2026 Imo APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee, declared Uzodinma the winner with 230,464 votes.

Okorocha, however, claimed that he won the contest with 150,780 votes, while Uzodinma scored 102,158 votes.

The former governor subsequently asked the court to nullify INEC’s publication of Uzodinma’s name and direct the commission to recognise him as the duly nominated candidate.

He also sought an order restraining Uzodinma, the APC and anyone acting on their behalf from presenting the governor as the party’s candidate for the election.

In an affidavit supporting the suit, Amen Rochas, Okorocha’s son, alleged that Uzodinma purchased nomination forms for the senatorial contest despite his tenure as governor extending beyond the inauguration of the 11th Senate in June 2027.

Uzodinma began his second term as governor in January 2024, with his tenure expected to end in January 2028.

The timing of the proposed senatorial election has also raised questions about whether Uzodinma would be required to leave office if elected to the Senate while still serving as governor.

Okorocha served as governor of Imo State from 2011 to 2019 and represented the state in the Senate from 2019 to 2023.