Okorocha Drags Uzodimma, INEC to Federal High Court Over Imo West Senate Ticket

A fresh legal battle has erupted within the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Imo State, as former Governor Rochas Okorocha has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge the emergence and publication of Governor Hope Uzodimma as the party's candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, was filed on August 13, 2026, by Okorocha's counsel, O.J. Aboje, with the Independent National Electoral Commission, Uzodimma and the APC listed as defendants.

Okorocha is asking the court to set aside INEC's publication recognising Uzodimma as the APC's candidate and to instead recognise and publish his name as the duly nominated candidate for the senatorial district.

The former governor's challenge strikes at two major issues: the validity of the APC primary and the constitutional implications of a sitting governor seeking a Senate seat before the expiration of his tenure. 

Uzodimma was officially declared winner of the APC Imo West senatorial primary held on May 18, 2026.

The party's returning officer, Rear Admiral Williams Kayoda, announced that Uzodimma secured 230,464 votes, while Okorocha was credited with 1,098 votes. Multiple reports at the time recorded Uzodimma's victory.

But Okorocha is now challenging that account in court.

In documents attached to the suit, his camp reportedly alleges that the actual direct primary produced a different result, claiming that Okorocha scored 150,780 votes, against 102,158 votes for Uzodimma. On that basis, he argues that he, rather than the governor, emerged as the legitimate winner.

The former governor is also asking the court to determine whether INEC is bound by reports prepared by its officials who monitored the May 18 primary, particularly where those reports allegedly conflict with the candidate subsequently submitted by the APC.

Beyond the primary dispute, the case raises another significant question concerning Governor Uzodimma's eligibility and the timing of his proposed move to the Senate.

Uzodimma began his second term as Imo governor in January 2024, meaning his tenure is expected to run until January 2028. The 11th National Assembly, however, is expected to be inaugurated in June 2027 — several months before the governor's tenure expires.

Okorocha's suit cites Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that a governor shall not, while holding office, hold another executive office or paid employment in any capacity.

The legal question, however, is more nuanced than simply whether a sitting governor can contest another election.

Political and constitutional analysts have pointed out that Nigerian law does not necessarily prevent an incumbent political office holder from contesting another elective position. The more difficult question is whether the person can simultaneously continue occupying the governorship and take up a Senate seat if elected.

This distinction has become central to the controversy surrounding Uzodimma's ambition.

Uzodimma formally entered the Imo West senatorial race in May, saying he had accepted what he described as a call from the people of the district to return to the Senate. He subsequently secured the APC ticket.

The governor previously represented Imo West in the Senate from 2011 to 2019 before becoming governor of Imo State.

His decision to seek a return to the National Assembly while still having months left on his second governorship has therefore generated considerable political debate.

For supporters, the move represents continuity and a return to national politics after completing the bulk of his governorship. For critics, it raises questions about governance, succession and the constitutional framework governing elective offices.

The dispute also places INEC at the centre of another controversy over the relationship between political parties and the electoral commission during party primaries.

The argument is essentially whether INEC should rely on the result recorded by its officials who monitored a party primary or on the candidate subsequently forwarded to the commission by the political party.

That question could have wider implications for the 2027 elections, particularly if courts are increasingly called upon to resolve disagreements between party-generated documents and reports produced by INEC's monitoring teams.

As the Federal High Court considers the matter, the case could become an important test of the boundaries between party autonomy, INEC's monitoring responsibilities, primary-election results and constitutional eligibility.

For now, Governor Hope Uzodimma remains the APC's publicly declared Imo West senatorial candidate, while Rochas Okorocha is asking the court to overturn that recognition and declare him the rightful candidate.

The unfolding legal battle is therefore not merely another intra-party dispute. It could shape the APC's senatorial contest in Imo West and provide fresh judicial interpretation of how Nigeria's electoral and constitutional provisions apply when an incumbent governor seeks another elective office before the end of his tenure.