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Uzodimma: Nobody Can Take My Imo West Senate Ticket
Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has declared that he will not relinquish his ambition to represent Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections, dismissing suggestions that he would surrender his ticket to former Governor Rochas Okorocha.
Uzodimma described reports that he would hand over his senatorial ticket to another aspirant as false, insisting that he remained in the race despite a court judgment ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Okorocha as the candidate.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had, on October 29, 2026, directed INEC to remove Uzodimma’s name as the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Imo West and replace it with Okorocha’s.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu reportedly based the ruling on the grounds that Uzodimma did not emerge from the APC senatorial primary election conducted on May 18.
However, the ruling has been rejected by the APC in Imo State, which maintains that Uzodimma remains its candidate for the senatorial district.
Speaking on Sunday after attending Mass at the Government House Chapel in Owerri, the governor dismissed suggestions that he would relinquish the ticket.
“If they tell you that I will hold this ticket and somebody will collect it and give it to another, tell the person it is a lie,” he said.
Uzodimma also urged residents to support the APC in the 2027 elections, insisting that the party would field candidates across all elective positions in the state.
He said, “Go and campaign for the party, our great party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. There is no other political party we are going with.
“For the House of Assembly, it is APC. For the House of Representatives, it is APC.”
The governor further identified the party’s preferred senatorial candidates for the three zones in Imo State, naming Patrick Ndubueze for Okigwe, himself for Orlu and Alex Mbata for Owerri.
Meanwhile, Okorocha had welcomed the court judgment, describing it as a victory for the judiciary, democracy and the people of Imo West.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemodo, the former governor commended President Bola Tinubu for providing an environment in which the judiciary and other institutions could function.
Okorocha described the judgment as a significant affirmation of the Constitution and the rule of law.
He said the ruling was a victory for those who supported justice and opposed wrongdoing.
The former governor added that the decision represented a victory for the people of Imo State, particularly residents of Imo West Senatorial District.
The dispute over the APC senatorial ticket has introduced another dimension to the political contest ahead of the 2027 general elections in Imo State.
