Uzodimma's Senate bid sparks constitutional showdown with Okorocha in court

The political rivalry between two Imo State governors has escalated into a constitutional showdown. Rochas Okorocha, who represented Imo West in the Senate from 2019 to 2023, has filed suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging his successor Hope Uzodimma's emergence as the All Progressives Congress candidate for the same senatorial seat in the 2027 elections. The case, filed on August 13, 2026, names Uzodimma, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission as defendants. But the dispute over who won the party primary is only the surface of a deeper legal puzzle: whether a sitting governor can legally contest a Senate election when his tenure would still be running at the time the new Senate takes office.

The constitutional question hinges on Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, which states that a governor cannot hold any other executive office or paid employment while in office. Uzodimma began his second term on January 15, 2024, with his tenure scheduled to end on January 15, 2028. The 2027 senatorial election will occur before that date, and the 11th Senate is expected to be inaugurated in June 2027—seven months before Uzodimma's governorship expires. If Uzodimma wins the election and takes the Senate oath before leaving office, he would technically be holding two executive positions simultaneously, a scenario that raises the constitutional question Okorocha's lawyers are asking the court to resolve.

Okorocha is also disputing the primary results themselves. The APC's returning officer declared Uzodimma the winner with 230,464 votes to Okorocha's 1,098 votes. Okorocha's court filing presents a radically different account: he claims he won with 150,780 votes while Uzodimma received 102,158. These conflicting figures form the basis of his request that the court set aside INEC's publication of Uzodimma as the APC candidate and recognize him instead as the party's duly nominated choice. Okorocha's son, Amen Rochas, who serves as his father's personal assistant on political matters, swore an affidavit supporting the former governor's version of the primary outcome.

Constitutional lawyers are divided on the severity of the problem. Dr. Monday Ubani, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, called it a novel and complex constitutional issue worthy of judicial attention. He noted that resignation is a constitutionally recognized way for a governor to cease holding office, suggesting that if Uzodimma resigned before taking the Senate oath, he would satisfy the constitutional requirement. However, Ubani cautioned that the court would first need to resolve preliminary questions about whether Okorocha has legal standing to bring the suit, whether the case falls under electoral law or constitutional law, and what personal harm Okorocha has suffered that gives him the right to challenge the nomination.

Hannibal Uwaifo, president of the African Bar Association, took a more permissive view. He argued that Uzodimma is entitled to contest the election because his governorship has not yet ended, but he emphasized that Uzodimma cannot occupy both offices simultaneously. According to Uwaifo, if Uzodimma wins the senatorial election, he would simply need to resign as governor before taking his Senate seat—a straightforward constitutional solution that would prevent any crisis. Uwaifo stated flatly that there is no constitutional breach unless Uzodimma refuses to resign before taking the oath of office as a senator.

The case now sits before the Federal High Court, which must untangle multiple legal questions: whether the disputed primary results are valid, whether INEC had proper grounds to publish Uzodimma's name as the candidate, and whether the Constitution permits a sitting governor to contest a Senate seat before his tenure expires. The outcome will determine not only who represents Imo West in the 2027 Senate but could also establish precedent for how future governors navigate the transition from state office to federal office. For Imo's APC, the case represents another chapter in the long-running political contest between Okorocha and Uzodimma, with implications that extend well beyond the senatorial race itself.