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Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has taken the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma to court over the APC ticket for the Imo West Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 general election.
Okorocha filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, 2026, through his lawyer, O.J. Aboje. The case is marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026.
At the centre of the dispute is INEC’s publication of Uzodimma’s name as the APC candidate for Imo West. Okorocha insists that he, rather than Uzodimma, emerged victorious from the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026.
However, Williams Kayode, chairman and returning officer of the APC’s 2026 Imo National Assembly primary election committee, reportedly declared Uzodimma winner with 230,464 votes. Okorocha is challenging that outcome and asking the court to examine the reports of INEC officials who monitored the primary.
The former governor is seeking several reliefs, including an order compelling INEC to recognise and publish his name as the APC’s duly nominated candidate for Imo West. He also wants the court to restrain Uzodimma from presenting himself as the party’s candidate.
The dispute has an additional political dimension because Uzodimma is currently serving his second term as governor of Imo State. He was sworn in for that term in January 2024, meaning his governorship tenure is expected to run until January 2028, while the next Senate is expected to be inaugurated in June 2027. This has generated questions about what would happen if Uzodimma were elected senator while still serving as governor.
Okorocha has also raised constitutional arguments in the case, citing Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, as he challenges the legality of INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma.
The legal battle brings two of Imo State’s most influential APC figures into direct confrontation and could have wider implications for the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
Ultimately, the Federal High Court will have to determine whether INEC and the APC acted lawfully in recognising Uzodimma — or whether Okorocha’s claim to the Imo West ticket should prevail.
