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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Former Imo State governor and senator representing Imo West, Rochas Okorocha, has sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, over the latter’s emergence as the party’s candidate for the 2027 Imo West Senatorial District election.
In the suit, filed on August 13, 2026, by his lawyer, O.J. Aboje, and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, Okorocha is asking the Federal High Court, Abuja, to determine whether INEC validly published Uzodimma’s name as the APC’s candidate for the election.
The suit contains five questions for determination and 10 reliefs.
Okorocha claims that he won the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18 to select the party’s candidate for Imo West.
He is asking the court to determine, among other issues, whether INEC was bound by the reports submitted by its officials who monitored the primary and whether the commission could validly publish Uzodimma’s name despite the outcome allegedly recorded by its officials.
Okorocha is also asking the court to determine whether Uzodimma was qualified to be nominated as the APC’s senatorial candidate while still serving as governor, citing provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Among the reliefs sought is a declaration that INEC’s publication of Uzodimma’s name was unconstitutional on the ground that he did not win the May 18 primary.
He is also asking the court to set aside the publication and direct INEC to recognise and publish his name as the duly nominated APC candidate for the 2027 election.
In addition, Okorocha wants an order restraining Uzodimma, whether personally or through the APC or any other person, from presenting himself as the party’s nominated candidate for the election.
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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 facts of the case.
According to the affidavit, Okorocha, born on September 22, 1962, is a registered and card-carrying member of the APC.
The affidavit states that Uzodimma began his second term as governor on January 15, 2024, and that his four-year tenure would still be running when the Senate elected in the 2027 general election is inaugurated.
Amen alleged that, despite this, Uzodimma obtained the expression-of-interest and nomination forms to contest the Imo West senatorial seat.
The affidavit further alleges that the APC National Working Committee directed that the result of the senatorial primary be forwarded to the party’s national secretariat for announcement.
According to the affidavit, the direct primary held on May 18 produced Okorocha as the winner with 150,780 votes, while Uzodimma was said to have scored 102,158 votes.
Okorocha is consequently asking the court to determine whether, in view of the alleged result of the primary and Uzodimma’s status as governor, INEC was entitled to publish his name as the APC’s senatorial candidate.
The suit is pending before the Federal High Court, Abuja.
