Imo political showdown: Court sacks Uzodinma from APC Senate ticket, declares Okorocha winner… Party kicks

By Amah

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The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State to stop presenting himself as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections, declaring former governor Rochas Okorocha the winner of the party’s disputed senatorial primary.

However, the ruling APC has rejected the court ruling, saying it was contrived by the opposition.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Obiora Egwuatu held that the evidence before the court established that Okorocha secured the majority of votes cast during the APC primary conducted on May 18, 2026, overturning the previously announced outcome in favour of Uzodinma.

The court consequently directed the APC to forward Okorocha’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its duly nominated candidate and ordered the electoral commission to recognise and publish his name for the January 16, 2027 senatorial election.

The ruling represents a significant development in Imo State politics, where the contest for the Imo West Senate seat has brought two former political allies-turned-rivals into a fresh legal confrontation.

The legal battle followed the emergence of conflicting claims over the outcome of the APC’s May 18 National Assembly primary election in Imo West.

Williams Kayode, chairman and returning officer of the party’s 2026 National Assembly Primary Election Committee, had declared Uzodinma the winner, with 230,464 votes. The result recognised by the party and INEC was challenged by Okorocha, who maintained that he had won the contest.

In the affidavit supporting his suit, Amen Rochas, Okorocha’s son and personal assistant on political matters, alleged that his father polled 150,780 votes against 102,158 for Uzodinma. These figures differed substantially from the result announced by the party, making the authenticity and interpretation of the primary election records central to the dispute.

Okorocha subsequently approached the Federal High Court, challenging INEC’s publication of Uzodinma’s name as the APC candidate.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, was filed on August 13, 2026, against INEC, Uzodinma and the APC. Among other reliefs, Okorocha sought an order setting aside the publication of Uzodinma’s name and directing the electoral commission to recognise him as the rightful nominee.

The court’s decision favoured Okorocha’s claim that he won the primary.

Beyond the disputed votes, the case raised questions about the propriety of a sitting governor seeking election to the Senate before completing his tenure.

Uzodinma began his second four-year term as Imo governor in January 2024, with his tenure expected to end in January 2028. The 11th National Assembly is scheduled to be inaugurated in June 2027, several months before the governor’s current tenure expires.

Okorocha questioned the constitutional implications of Uzodinma’s senatorial ambition, invoking Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, which prohibits a state governor from holding another executive office or engaging in paid employment during his tenure.

The constitutional provision formed part of Okorocha’s arguments against the recognition of Uzodinma as the APC’s candidate.

However, the immediate dispute before the court centred on who actually won the party’s primary and whether INEC acted properly in publishing Uzodinma’s name despite the competing claims concerning the election results.

Uzodinma and the APC opposed the suit, arguing, among other things, that it was filed outside the 14-day period prescribed for pre-election matters. Their position was that the primary had been properly conducted and that the result declaring Uzodinma the winner should stand.

INEC also opposed Okorocha’s claims, maintaining in its response that its officials had monitored the primary and that the report available to the commission identified Uzodinma as the winner.

The court nevertheless ruled in Okorocha’s favour.

The dispute carries additional political significance because of the history between the two men.

Okorocha governed Imo State from 2011 to 2019 before winning election to represent Imo West Senatorial District in the Senate, where he served from 2019 to 2023.

Uzodinma became governor in January 2020 following the Supreme Court’s decision in the disputed 2019 governorship election. His emergence as governor and subsequent political consolidation placed him at the centre of Imo’s political establishment, while Okorocha’s influence continued to be a factor in the state’s political calculations.

The current confrontation reflects the increasingly consequential struggle over the APC’s senatorial nomination in Imo West, a district that has previously produced both men for prominent political offices.

For Okorocha, the judgment opens the way for a return to the Senate after his departure from the chamber in 2023. For Uzodinma, it disrupts his bid to secure the APC ticket for the 2027 election while still serving as governor.

The implications also extend to the APC, which must contend with the court’s directives concerning its candidate selection process and INEC’s official records.

The ruling directs the APC to submit Okorocha’s name and INEC to recognise and publish him as the party’s candidate for Imo West.

Nevertheless, the judgment does not by itself determine who will ultimately win the senatorial election. The election is scheduled for January 16, 2027, and further legal proceedings, including a possible appeal, could affect the subsequent course of the dispute.

The case underscores the legal and political consequences of disagreements over party primaries, particularly when competing claims about election results reach the courts.

For now, the Federal High Court’s decision has placed Okorocha in the position of the APC’s recognised nominee under the judgment, while directing Uzodinma to cease presenting himself as the party’s candidate for the Imo West Senate seat.

Meanwhile the APC has rejected court ruling sacking Uzodimma, insisting that the Imo governor remained its candidate for Imo West Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement issued on Thursday by its State Publicity Secretary, Onwuasoanya FCC Jones,  the party dismissed the reports of Uzodimma’s sack as unverified.