- Drags INEC, Gov Uzodinma, APC to court
BY ONYEKACHUKWU IBEZIM – In a blockbuster political showdown, former Governor of Imo State and lawmaker representing Imo West Senatorial district in the National Assembly, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Hope Uzodinma before the Federal High Court over the publication of Uzodinma’s name as the APC candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District election scheduled for 2027.
Clearly launching high-stakes legal battle against the trio, Okorocha filed the suit on August 13, 2026, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, through his lawyer, O.J. Aboje. The suit, which contains five questions for determination and 10 reliefs sought by the former governor, is asking the court to determine the validity of INEC’s publication of Uzodinma as the winner of the APC senatorial primary.
Challenging the publication of Uzodinma’s name, the former governor insisted that he won the APC primary conducted on May 18 to nominate the party’s candidate for the Imo West senatorial election, even as he urged the Court to determine whether INEC was bound by reports submitted by its officials who monitored the APC primary and whether the Commission could publish Uzodinma’s name despite the outcome of the primary as allegedly monitored by its officers.
Okorocha is also asking the Court to determine whether, having regard to Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, Uzodinma was eligible to be published as the APC senatorial candidate while still serving as governor.
Among other issues, Okorocha is also seeking a declaration that INEC’s publication of Uzodinma’s name as the APC candidate was unconstitutional because, according to him, Governor Uzodinma did not win the May 18 primary, while urging 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 Imo West senatorial election.
Furthermore, he wants the Court to restrain Uzodinma, whether personally or through the APC or any other person, from presenting himself as the party’s nominated candidate for the election, as well as an order awarding costs against the respondents.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the suit, Amen Rochas, who described Senator Okorocha as his biological father and identified himself as the former governor’s Personal Assistant on Political Matters, said he was familiar with the facts and circumstances surrounding the case.
Amen, in the affidavit, said Okorocha, born on September 22, 1962, is a registered and card-carrying member of the APC, maintaining further that Uzodinma’s tenure as governor would expire at midnight on January 14, 2028, having been sworn in for his second term on January 15, 2024.
