Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has insisted that he remains in the race for the Imo West Senatorial seat ahead of the 2027 general elections, dismissing claims that he would relinquish his ticket to another candidate as false.
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His declaration comes amid a legal dispute over his candidacy following a Federal High Court judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove his name as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West and replace it with that of former Governor Rochas Okorocha.
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The court, sitting in Abuja on October 29, 2026, ruled that Uzodimma did not emerge victorious in the APC senatorial primary election conducted on May 18.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu consequently ordered INEC to recognise Okorocha as the party’s candidate for the district.
However, the APC in Imo State has rejected the judgment, maintaining that Uzodimma remains its candidate for the senatorial election.
Speaking on Sunday after attending Mass at the Government House Chapel in Owerri, the state capital, Uzodimma dismissed suggestions that he would surrender his ticket to anyone.
“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.
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The governor also urged residents to mobilise support for the APC ahead of the 2027 elections, insisting that the party would contest all elective positions in the state.
“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,” he said.
He further identified the APC candidates he expects to represent the state’s three senatorial districts, naming Patrick Ndubueze for Okigwe, himself for Orlu and Alex Mbata for Owerri.
Meanwhile, Okorocha had earlier described the court judgment recognising his candidacy as a victory for democracy and the Nigerian judiciary.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemodo, the former governor commended President Bola Tinubu for creating what he described as an enabling environment for the judiciary and other institutions to perform their constitutional responsibilities.
Okorocha said the judgment represented a victory for the judiciary, Nigeria’s democracy and the Constitution, as well as the people of Imo State, particularly those in Imo West Senatorial District.
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