A fresh political battle has erupted in Imo State as former governor Rochas Okorocha launches a legal offensive to stop Governor Hope Uzodimma from flying the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag in the 2027 Imo West Senatorial District election.
Okorocha, who previously represented Imo West in the Senate between 2019 and 2023, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, asking it to nullify Uzodimma’s emergence as the APC senatorial candidate and recognise him as the rightful candidate of the ruling party.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, filed on August 13 through his lawyer, O.J. Aboje, the former governor listed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Uzodimma and the APC as defendants.
Okorocha is challenging INEC’s decision to publish Uzodimma’s name as the winner of the APC primary held on May 18, insisting that the process that produced the governor was invalid.
The legal move threatens to throw open a major political showdown within the APC, as Uzodimma — one of the party’s influential governors and chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum — seeks to move from the Government House to the Senate in 2027.
The former governor is also questioning Uzodimma’s eligibility to contest for a senatorial seat while still occupying the office of governor, citing Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, which restricts governors from holding another executive position or paid employment during their tenure.
Uzodimma began his second term in January 2024 and is expected to remain governor until January 2028. The 11th National Assembly is scheduled to commence in June 2027, meaning he would still be in office when elected senators are expected to resume.
However, sources within the Imo State Government have argued that Uzodimma would resign before the Senate inauguration, paving the way for his deputy to complete the tenure.
But Okorocha is insisting that the governor’s move violates constitutional provisions and wants the court to declare INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as APC candidate unlawful.
In his suit, the ex-governor is asking the court to order INEC to replace Uzodimma’s name with his own as the APC candidate for Imo West, while restraining the party from presenting the governor as its candidate.
Supporting his father’s claim, Amen Rochas, son of the former governor, alleged in an affidavit that the APC conducted a direct primary where Okorocha scored 150,780 votes to defeat Uzodimma, who allegedly polled 102,158 votes.
The governor, however, was declared winner of the primary by the party’s National Assembly Primary Election Committee chairman and returning officer, Williams Kayode, after being credited with 230,464 votes.
The dispute will now require the court to determine which version of the primary result is valid and whether Uzodimma can legally combine his current office with a senatorial ambition.
The Imo West seat has become one of the most closely watched contests ahead of the January 16, 2027 National Assembly election, with the outcome of the case capable of reshaping the political balance in Imo APC.
