2027: Okorocha Drags Uzodinma to Court Over Imo West Senate Seat

Former Imo State Governor and Senator Rochas Okorocha has dragged Governor Hope Uzodinma before the Federal High Court in Abuja over the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for the Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election.

Okorocha is challenging Uzodinma’s emergence as the APC’s candidate for the senatorial election, arguing that the governor’s current tenure will not expire before the Senate inaugurated after the 2027 election begins its term.

In an affidavit filed alongside the suit, Okorocha argued that Uzodinma’s tenure as Imo governor runs until midnight on January 14, 2028, having been sworn in for his second term on January 15, 2024.

He contended that the governor therefore remains in office when the new Senate is expected to be inaugurated in 2027.

According to Okorocha, Uzodinma nevertheless purchased the APC expression-of-interest and nomination forms to contest the Imo West senatorial ticket.

The former governor is asking the court to declare unconstitutional any attempt by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish Uzodinma as the APC’s candidate for the senatorial election.

Okorocha also challenged the validity of the party’s primary election, claiming that he emerged as the winner of the direct primary conducted on May 18.

He alleged that he secured 150,780 votes, while Uzodinma polled 102,158 votes.

On the basis of the alleged result, Okorocha is asking the court to direct INEC to recognise and publish his name as the duly nominated APC candidate for Imo West.

He is further seeking an order restraining Uzodinma, the APC or any other person acting on the party’s behalf from presenting or parading the governor as its senatorial candidate for the district.

INEC, Uzodinma and the APC are listed as respondents in the suit.

The legal challenge adds a fresh dimension to the political contest surrounding the Imo West senatorial seat and could determine who eventually carries the APC’s flag in the district at the 2027 election.

Okorocha, who represented Imo West in the Senate between 2019 and 2023 before returning to the political spotlight in the state, is seeking to reclaim the senatorial seat.

The suit is expected to test both the legality of Uzodinma’s senatorial ambition while still serving as governor and the validity of the primary process through which the APC selected its candidate.

The defendants are yet to publicly respond to the allegations contained in the suit as of the time of filing this report.

The case is now before the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Okorocha is seeking judicial declarations and orders that could significantly alter the APC’s plans for the Imo West senatorial contest.