Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to overturn the nomination of Governor Hope Uzodimma as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election.
In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, filed on August 13, Okorocha is challenging both the process through which Uzodimma emerged from the APC senatorial primary and his constitutional eligibility to contest the election while still serving as governor.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Uzodimma and the APC are listed as defendants in the suit.
Okorocha, who represented Imo West in the Senate between 2019 and 2023, is asking the court to declare INEC’s publication of Uzodimma’s name as the APC candidate unconstitutional and void.
Uzodimma was declared winner of the APC primary held on May 18 after receiving 230,464 votes, according to the declaration by Williams Kayode, chairman and returning officer of the party’s 2026 Imo APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee.
However, Okorocha is questioning whether INEC is legally bound to rely on the outcome announced at the primary in view of reports submitted by officials who monitored the exercise.
Beyond the primary, the former governor has raised a constitutional argument over Uzodimma’s eligibility to seek a Senate seat while remaining in office as governor.
He is relying on Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, which restricts a serving governor from holding another executive office or paid employment during his tenure.
Uzodimma began his second term as governor in January 2024 and is constitutionally expected to remain in office until January 2028, while the 11th National Assembly is scheduled to commence in June 2027.
Okorocha’s argument therefore places the timing of Uzodimma’s proposed transition from the governorship at the centre of the legal dispute.
Officials of the Uzodimma administration have indicated that the governor would vacate office for his deputy to complete the remainder of the second term, but the court is being asked to determine whether that arrangement would resolve the constitutional issues surrounding his Senate candidacy.
The 2027 general election, including the contests for the Senate and House of Representatives, is scheduled for January 16, 2027.
Okorocha is consequently seeking an order directing INEC to recognise and publish his name as the duly nominated APC candidate for Imo West.
The case could determine not only who flies the APC flag in the Imo West senatorial contest but also whether a sitting governor can successfully secure a legislative nomination before the expiration of his tenure.
