Oluwanifemi Ibikunle
Former Imo State Governor and Senator representing Imo West, Rochas Okorocha, has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission before the court over its recognition of Governor Hope Uzodimma as the All Progressives Congress candidate for the senatorial district in the 2027 elections.
Okorocha, who is seeking a return to the Senate, is asking the court to nullify INEC’s publication of Uzodimma’s name as the APC candidate, insisting that he won the party’s direct primary held on May 18.
In the suit, the former governor questioned the legal basis for INEC’s decision to recognise Uzodimma despite reports allegedly submitted by the commission’s officials who monitored the primary.
Okorocha is also challenging Uzodimma’s eligibility to contest the senatorial election, relying on Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution.
He argued that the governor’s tenure would not expire until January 14, 2028, and is asking the court to determine whether Uzodimma can validly contest for the Senate while still occupying the governorship.
The former governor is seeking an order setting aside INEC’s publication of Uzodimma as the APC senatorial candidate for Imo West.
He is also asking the court to compel INEC to recognise and publish his name as the duly nominated APC candidate for the election.
Okorocha further wants the court to restrain Uzodimma, the APC and their agents from presenting or portraying the governor as the party’s candidate for the senatorial district.
He is also seeking an award of costs against the respondents.
In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, Amen Rochas, who identified himself as Okorocha’s biological son and Personal Assistant on Political Matters, said he was familiar with the circumstances surrounding the dispute.
He stated that Okorocha was a registered and financial member of the APC and participated in the party’s process for selecting its candidate for the Imo West senatorial election.
Amen alleged that Uzodimma obtained the APC Expression of Interest and nomination forms despite the governor’s tenure being scheduled to end in January 2028.
He further claimed that several aspirants were screened and cleared to participate in the direct primary and that the APC National Working Committee directed that the results be transmitted to the party’s national secretariat for announcement.
According to the affidavit, Okorocha won the primary with 150,780 votes, while Uzodimma scored 102,158 votes.
The development has opened another legal front in the increasingly intense battle for elective positions ahead of the 2027 general elections, with questions surrounding party primaries, nomination procedures and constitutional eligibility expected to feature prominently in pre-election litigation.
INEC had earlier published Uzodimma’s name as the APC candidate for Imo West, a decision Okorocha is now asking the court to overturn.
The outcome of the case could determine which of the two prominent Imo politicians will fly the APC flag in the contest for the Imo West senatorial seat in 2027.
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