Court sacks Uzodimma as APC’s Imo West senatorial candidate, orders INEC to recognise Okorocha

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as the Imo West senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 general elections and replaced him with Rochas Okorocha.

In a judgement on Thursday, Judge Obiora Egwuatu ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the name of Mr Okorocha, a former governor of the state who was previously elected to represent the district in the Nigerian Senate, as the validly nominated candidate of the APC for the upcoming senatorial election.

The Punch reported that the judge directed Mr Uzodimma, chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, a peer-review group of APC governors, to stop parading himself as the APC candidate for the 16 January 2027 election.

Mr Egwuatu issued the orders in a suit filed by Mr Okorocha challenging Mr Uzodimma’s nomination.

The judge ruled that sufficient evidence provided by Mr Okorocha showed that he, and not Mr Uzodimma, won the 18 May APC primary election monitored by INEC.

Mr Uzodimma reserves the right to appeal the judgement in the case which is likely to reach the Supreme Court for ultimate resolution.

Mr Okorocha previously served as a senator representing the Imo West senatorial district from June 2019 June 2019 to June 2023 during the 9th Nigerian Senate.

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His election to the senate followed his eight years as governor between May 2011 and May 2019.

His bid to return to the Senate has intensified the longtime rivalry between him and Mr Uzodimma, who became governor through a controversial Supreme Court judgement in January 2020 despite the then-incumbent governor Okorocha backing another candidate to succeed him.

Mr Uzodimma is in his second and final four-year term as governor, which should run till January 2028. If he eventually prevails in the senatorial contest, he must resign as governor and forfeit the remaining six months of his tenure to take up the senatorial seat.