Orlu Senatorial Seat: War in Imo as Okorocha battles Uzodimma

•Court grants Okorocha ticket, 12 Chairmen back governor By Omeiza Ajayi – ABUJA The fight over who flies the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag in Imo West Senatorial District has turned into open war, with the party’s 12 local government chairmen in the zone rejecting a court judgment that handed the ticket to former Governor Rochas Okorocha and insisting that Governor Hope Uzodimma remains the candidate.

Read Also: Tinubu has broken Imo’s shackles — Okorocha hails court judgment The chairmen made their stand known on Friday at a press conference in Owerri, a day after a Federal High Court in Abuja sacked Uzodimma as the party’s candidate for the January 16, 2027 Senate election. State APC chairman, Austin Onyedebelu spoke on behalf of the Chairmen.

Said he: “We reject this judgment in its entirety because it is an undisguised travesty of justice. It is a political robbery clothed in legal robes, the latest instalment of a satanic scheme hatched by Abuja politicians against the South-East,” the chairmen declared. Justice Obiora Egwuatu ruled on Thursday that Okorocha, and not the governor, won the party’s May 18 primary for the district.

He held that Okorocha had produced “sufficient evidence” that he won the exercise, which was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Court order The court ordered the APC to forward Okorocha’s name to INEC and directed the commission to publish him as the party’s validly nominated candidate. It also barred Uzodimma from presenting himself as the APC candidate in the election.

The chairmen said they were in the field on May 18, 2026, when the primary was held, and that Okorocha scored only 1,098 votes against about 230,000 for Uzodimma, who was declared winner in the presence of INEC staff. “For the avoidance of doubt, we NEVER VOTED FOR ROCHAS OKOROCHA,” Onyedebelu said. “This legal somersault orchestrated by enemies of Ndigbo was obviously procured not only to destabilise Orlu zone but to consolidate the war of attrition by some Nigerians to politically hold down the south east.” They said Okorocha never used the window provided by the party to petition its appeal panel over any irregularity, only to go to court and be handed victory.

The chairmen pointed to what they called wild celebrations by Okorocha since Thursday and his remarks that he got help from higher quarters outside the court. In their view, this showed a conspiracy to shut Ndigbo out of political relevance. They said they were enraged that people outside Igboland wanted to use Okorocha as an errand boy to supplant the wish of the majority of APC members in the Orlu zone, who overwhelmingly voted for Uzodimma.

“Our grievance lies with a small circle of power brokers who appear determined that no Igbo man shall come close to the first, second, or third positions in the land. We therefore appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose leadership we support and will continue to support, to look closely at the men behind this scheme,” they said. Describing Uzodimma as the heartbeat of the APC in the South-East, the chairmen said they remained loyal party members but urged the APC to move quickly to resolve what they called a “robbery” before it causes problems for the party in the region.

“While we hope and pray that this sinister action of enemies of Ndigbo will be quashed by the Appeal Court, we fear the backlash of this obnoxious attempt to deny the people of the South East their rightful political position of being at least the number three in Nigeria, something that has been denied us for almost 20 years,” they said. The judgment, in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, ended a case Okorocha filed on August 13 against INEC, the APC and Uzodimma.

Primaries records At the heart of the case are conflicting records of the primary. Okorocha’s affidavit, filed by his son, Amen Rochas, claimed he polled 150,780 votes to Uzodimma’s 102,158. Uzodimma’s counter-affidavit, sworn by Lucky Ajokperiniovo, said the governor won with 230,464 votes against 1,098 for Okorocha. INEC told the court that its officials monitored the primary and that Uzodimma scored the highest number of votes.

It said no aspirant complained. The commission had also referred the disputed document naming Okorocha as winner to security agencies for investigation. The Imo State chapter of the APC has also dismissed the judgment. Its Publicity Secretary, Onwuasoanya FCC Jones, said in a statement that Uzodimma “remains the candidate of our party for Imo West Senatorial District.” He said the party’s legal department would study the ruling and act accordingly.

The Uzodimma camp has said he will appeal. A source in the camp said: “The governor will be on the ballot for the January 16, 2027 election.” The APC national secretariat in Abuja had not responded to the judgment at the time of filing this report. Okorocha, through his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, called the judgment “a victory for the nation’s fast-growing de