Imo APC Vows Legal Action, Insists Uzodimma Remains Senatorial Candidate Despite Court Ruling

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State has insisted that Governor Hope Uzodimma remains its candidate for Imo West Senatorial District, despite a Federal High Court judgment recognising former Governor Rochas Okorocha as the party’s candidate for the 2027 general elections.

The party said its legal department would study the judgment and take appropriate action, signalling a possible legal challenge to the ruling.

The APC stated its position in a press release signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Onwuasoanya FCC Jones, PhD, on Thursday.

“The Party wishes to state without any confusion that His Excellency Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, CON, remains the candidate of our Party for Imo West Senatorial District, having won the primaries of our great Party with the overwhelming support of the majority of our Party members,” the statement said.

The party added: “The Party’s legal department shall study the outcome of a legal intervention in this matter and act accordingly.”

The APC’s position followed a judgment delivered on Thursday by Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja in a suit filed by Okorocha challenging Uzodimma’s recognition as the party’s senatorial candidate.

The court held that Okorocha won the APC primary conducted on May 18, 2026, and ordered the party to submit his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District election scheduled for January 16, 2027.

The judge also ordered Uzodimma to stop parading himself as the party’s candidate for the senatorial election.

Okorocha had challenged INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the winner of the primary, arguing that the electoral commission’s officials who monitored the exercise had documented evidence supporting his own victory.

The ruling has intensified the political contest between the two former allies and thrown the APC’s Imo West senatorial ticket into further uncertainty, with the state chapter maintaining its support for Uzodimma while its legal department considers the next steps.

The development also deals a potential blow to Uzodimma’s reported ambition to become Senate President in the 12th National Assembly, should he fail to overturn the judgment.