Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has dismissed suggestions that he could lose his All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial ticket, insisting that he will not surrender the nomination to anyone.
Uzodimma spoke on Sunday after attending Mass at the Government House Chapel in Owerri, the state capital.
Reacting to speculation that another aspirant could take over his ticket, the governor said nobody would replace him as the APC candidate.
“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 campaign for the APC, declaring that his political camp would not support any other party in the forthcoming elections.
“Go and campaign for the party, our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). There is no other political party we are going with,” he said.
The governor further identified the APC candidates he wants residents to support in the forthcoming legislative elections.
“For house of assembly, it is APC. For house of representatives, it is APC,” he said.
He named Patrick Ndubueze as the party’s senatorial candidate for Okigwe Zone, himself for Orlu Zone and Alex Mbata for Owerri Zone.
“For senate, your senator in Okigwe zone is Patrick Ndubueze, in Orlu zone it is my humble self (Hope Uzodimma), and in Owerri zone it is (Alex) Mbata,” he said.
His remarks come days after a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove his name as the APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District and replace it with that of former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu ruled that Okorocha secured the majority of votes in the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026.
The judge faulted INEC for recognising Uzodimma as the party’s candidate despite what he described as overwhelming documentary evidence that the governor did not win the primary.
Okorocha, who governed Imo State from 2011 to 2019, had approached the court in August to challenge INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the APC candidate.
Following the judgment, Okorocha described the ruling as a victory for Imo West residents and commended the judiciary.
He also thanked President Bola Tinubu, claiming that the Presidency was no longer supportive of the situation in Imo State.
The court ruling and Uzodimma’s latest declaration have intensified the dispute over the APC’s senatorial ticket for Imo West ahead of the 2027 general elections.
