Ex‑Imo Governor Seeks Court Order to Replace APC Senatorial Nominee

Former Imo State governor Rochas Okorocha filed a lawsuit on 13 August 2026 asking the Federal High Court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove Hope Uzodimma’s name as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo West senatorial election and to substitute his own name instead. The suit names INEC, the APC and Uzodimma as defendants and seeks a declaration that the commission’s acceptance of Uzodimma’s nomination violates the constitution and the 2026 amended Electoral Act.

According to the court papers, Okorocha insists that he won the APC primary for the senatorial district held on 18 May 2026. He says the result was recorded in a report prepared by INEC officers who monitored the primary and that the commission is bound by its own staff’s findings. To support this claim, he submitted an affidavit signed by his son, Amen Okorochas, who also serves as his personal assistant on political matters. The affidavit states that Okorocha received 150,780 votes in the primary while Uzodimma received 102,158 votes.

Okorocha’s legal team argues that, because the primary outcome favoured him, INEC had no lawful basis to accept Uzodimma’s name as the party’s nominee. They contend that the commission’s decision to publish Uzodimma on its portal as the winner of the APC primary is therefore unconstitutional and unlawful. The suit asks the court to issue three specific orders: first, to compel the APC to forward Okorocha’s name to INEC as its official candidate; second, to direct INEC to publish that name as the APC nominee for the Imo West senatorial seat; and third, to restrain Uzodimma from continuing to present himself as the APC candidate for the election.

In addition to the electoral claims, the affidavit notes Uzodimma’s current tenure as governor of Imo State. It points out that his second term is scheduled to end on 14 January 2028, which means he would still be in office when the new senate cycle is inaugurated in mid‑2027. Okorocha’s lawyers argue that allowing Uzodimma to run for the senate while remaining governor would create a situation where one individual holds two elected offices simultaneously, a scenario prohibited by Nigerian law. They suggest that the court should consider this conflict when evaluating the suitability of Uzodimma’s candidacy.

The case was filed during the annual judicial vacation period, and it remains unclear whether a judge has been assigned to hear the matter. Typically, a few judges stay behind during the break to handle urgent matters, but the court’s docket has not yet reflected any allocation for this suit. Okorocha’s counsel, O. J. Aboje, submitted the papers on 13 August 2026 and has asked for an expedited hearing given the proximity of the primary date and the upcoming general election.

Political observers note that Uzodimma’s decision to seek the senatorial seat has surprised many, given that he still has more than a year left in his gubernatorial term. Some analysts speculate that he may resign if he wins the senate race, allowing his deputy to complete the remainder of his term, while others suggest he may be eyeing a future leadership role in the Senate. Okorocha, meanwhile, is attempting to regain a senatorial seat he previously held; he lost the Imo West district to Osita Izunaso in the last election, and Izunaso is regarded as a political ally of Uzodimma.

The lawsuit raises several legal questions that the court will need to address. One is whether the APC can lawfully submit a candidate’s name to INEC when that person did not win the party’s primary. Another concerns INEC’s duty to accept and publish a nominee that, according to its own monitoring report, did not prevail in the primary. A third question asks whether the true winner of the primary should be recognised as the APC candidate for the senatorial election. The suit also requests damages against INEC, the APC and Uzodimma for any harm caused by the alleged unlawful conduct.

If the court grants Okorocha’s requests, it would compel the APC to replace Uzodimma with Okorocha on the ballot for the Imo West senatorial contest and would require INEC to reflect that change in its official records. Such a ruling could affect the balance of power in the state’s delegation to the National Assembly and influence broader debates about the enforcement of internal party democracy and the prohibition on dual office‑holding in Nigeria.