The contest for the presidency of the 11th Senate has taken a fresh turn following a Federal High Court judgment removing Hope Uzodimma, the Imo State governor, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Imo West and recognising former governor Rochas Okorocha as the winner of the party’s primary election.
The ruling, delivered on Thursday, October 29, by Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Okorocha as the APC candidate for the January 16, 2027 National Assembly election.
The court also directed Uzodimma to stop presenting himself as the party’s candidate and ordered the APC to forward Okorocha’s name to INEC.
But in a swift response, the Imo State chapter of the APC rejected the position, insisting that Uzodimma remained its candidate for the senatorial district.
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In a statement signed by Jones Onwuasoanya, its State Publicity Secretary, the party said Uzodimma emerged from the May 18 primary with the overwhelming support of party members, adding that its legal department would study the judgment and determine the next line of action.
“The party wishes to state without any confusion that His Excellency Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, CON, remains the candidate of our Party for Imo West Senatorial District, having won the primaries of our great Party with the overwhelming support of the majority of our Party members,” the statement said.
The party’s position has introduced another layer of uncertainty into the political calculations surrounding the next Senate presidency, particularly as Uzodimma has been linked to the race to succeed incumbent Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Although the court case concerns the APC’s Imo West nomination and not Uzodimma’s general eligibility to become Senate President, the judgment directly affects the first hurdle he must cross: securing a seat in the next Senate.
The 11th National Assembly is expected to be inaugurated in June 2027, following the January 16 National Assembly elections. Senators-elect will elect the Senate President and Deputy Senate President at the inauguration.
For Uzodimma, the immediate challenge is therefore no longer simply whether he can secure support for the Senate’s top position, but whether he can remain the APC’s candidate and win election into the chamber.
The ruling followed a suit filed by Okorocha, who challenged the recognition of Uzodimma as the party’s candidate. Okorocha argued that he won the May 18 primary and that INEC was bound by the report of its officials who monitored the exercise.
In its judgment, the court held that the evidence before it established that Okorocha, rather than Uzodimma, won the primary. It consequently ordered the APC to submit Okorocha’s name to INEC.
The governor and the APC had opposed the suit, arguing that it was filed outside the 14-day period prescribed by Section 285(9) of the Constitution for pre-election matters. The court nevertheless ruled in Okorocha’s favour.
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The APC’s insistence that Uzodimma remains its candidate means the dispute could continue through further legal and party processes. Uzodimma also retains the right to appeal the judgment.
The development has revived attention on the political rivalry between the two former governors. Okorocha governed Imo State from 2011 to 2019 and represented Imo West in the Senate from 2019 to 2023, while Uzodimma represented the same district from 2011 to 2019 before becoming governor in January 2020.
Beyond the dispute over the party ticket, the outcome could affect the calculations of politicians positioning themselves for the Senate presidency.
The Imo dispute is unfolding against the backdrop of an increasingly public contest between Akpabio and politicians reportedly interested in succeeding him.
On October 14, during the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council at the State House in Abuja, Akpabio openly appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to support his return as Senate President in the 11th National Assembly.
He also used the occasion to caution governors against abandoning their constituents to pursue other political offices before completing their tenures.
“I did eight years as a governor, and the constitution says you should do eight years. There’s no need for you to start eyeing another position that is not available,” Akpabio said.
Although he did not mention Uzodimma by name, the remarks were widely interpreted as directed at the Imo governor, whose reported interest in the Senate presidency had become a subject of political discussion.
Akpabio also told Tinubu to encourage lawmakers to return to the National Assembly and support his second-term ambition.
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“Mr President, you already know that we (the National Assembly) are with you. Please, take the advice of Governor Soludo seriously. He (Soludo) said if the cloth is not torn, why try to amend it? If you try to amend it, you are going to tear the cloth,” he said.
“If the National Assembly is so much with you, why not encourage them to come back and support you in your second term?”
The Senate President’s comments were significant because they brought his ambition into the open while also drawing attention to the possibility of a rival candidate emerging from within the ruling party.
Uzodimma, who was also present at the campaign council inauguration, confirmed that he would contest the senatorial election.
“Mr President, you will be on the ballot on 16 January 2027. But if we are honest with ourselves, so will we,” he said.
“I will be on the ballot as a senatorial candidate. So, all of us. The challenge of re-electing Mr President is the challenge of re-electing every member of APC.”
Uzodimma’s second term as governor is expected to end in January 2028, while the 11th Senate is scheduled to begin in June 2027.
If elected senator and determined to take up the seat before his governorship tenure expires, he would have to leave the governorship early, as he cannot simultaneously occupy both offices.
The timing has therefore become part of the political debate around his reported ambition.
A day after Akpabio’s appeal to Tinubu, the Senate witnessed another episode that further exposed the struggle over the next leadership of the chamber.
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During plenary on October 15, Tahir Monguno, the Senate Chief Whip, moved to publicly endorse Akpabio’s return, declaring that the Senate presidency would not be open for contest in the 11th National Assembly.
Monguno also extended the endorsement to Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and other principal officers, expressing confidence that most of the serving lawmakers would secure re-election.
“By the grace of God, the majority of us are going to make it back to the Senate, and this seat is hereby declared: there is no vacancy. No vacancy at all, including the seat of DSP, and all other principal officers,” Monguno said.
Cyril Fasuyi, senator representing Ekiti North, seconded the motion, insisting that the Senate presidency was already occupied by Akpabio.
“The seat of the Senate President in the 11th Assembly is not open to any contest. It is already occupied by Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio,” Fasuyi said.
Akpabio put the motion to a voice vote, which received support from lawmakers present.
The declaration was an unusually early public expression of support for the incumbent and his principal officers, coming months before the general election and before the composition of the next Senate is known.
Akpabio subsequently suggested that the controversy surrounding his remarks on the bill seeking to decriminalise attempted suicide was being exploited by politicians interested in the Senate presidency.
“I know the position of president is gone. The position of vice president is gone. The only one that is left now is the position of Senate president that everybody wants to contest and have started mobilising,” he said.
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The declaration, however, does not amount to a formal election or guarantee that Akpabio will retain the office. Under the legislative process, the Senate President is elected by senators-elect at the inauguration of a new National Assembly.
The voters in the senatorial elections will first determine who enters the chamber, while the newly elected lawmakers will decide who leads it.
The episode nevertheless demonstrated that the battle for the 11th Senate presidency has begun well ahead of the inauguration.
The public endorsements followed an earlier controversy over amendments to the Senate Standing Orders in May 2026, which raised questions about whether the rules were being adjusted to shape the field of contenders for the next leadership.
On May 5, the Senate amended its rules to require lawmakers seeking the positions of Senate President and Deputy Senate President to have served for at least eight years in the chamber, across two consecutive terms immediately preceding their nomination.
The change represented a departure from the previous arrangement, under which ranking senators who had served at least one term could contest for presiding offices.
The amendment had implications for several politicians believed to be interested in leadership positions in the 11th Senate, including Uzodimma and Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo North.
Uzodimma had served two consecutive terms in the Senate between 2011 and 2019, but had been outside the chamber since becoming governor. Oshiomhole, on the other hand, entered the Senate in 2023 and was serving his first term.
The proposed requirement for two consecutive terms immediately preceding nomination would therefore have excluded both men.
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The amendment also generated questions about Akpabio’s own eligibility under the proposed framework, given that his previous Senate service was not continuous with his current tenure.
Oshiomhole publicly criticised the amendment, arguing that it raised questions about fairness and the circumstances in which lawmakers were changing the rules governing their own leadership.
Beyond Akpabio and Uzodimma, Oshiomhole is among the politicians whose names have featured in discussions about the next Senate presidency.
The former Edo governor, former APC national chairman and former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress has built a political profile around his confrontational style and public criticism of powerful interests.
His challenge to the May amendments placed him at the centre of the debate over the eligibility rules, although he must first secure re-election to the Senate before any leadership contest can take place.
Other political actors have also become part of the conversation.
Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory, publicly opposed Uzodimma’s reported ambition during an appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout in September.
Wike accused governors of seeking to influence the emergence of the next National Assembly leadership by determining which candidates secure legislative seats.
He specifically criticised the possibility of Uzodimma seeking to become Senate President after leaving office as governor.
The dispute has therefore moved beyond the Senate chamber, drawing in governors, federal ministers and party leaders whose interests may shape the emergence of the next legislature.
The president’s position is also important. Although the Senate President is elected by senators and not appointed by the president, the ruling party’s internal arrangements and the president’s political preference can influence the contest.
Akpabio’s direct appeal to Tinubu for support reflects the importance he attaches to the relationship with the Presidency.
At the same time, Uzodimma’s position as chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and his reported relationship with Tinubu have made his possible entry into the Senate a subject of wider political interest.
The question is whether the next Senate leadership will emerge primarily from the choices of senators-elect or from negotiations among powerful figures within the ruling party.
