The ruling All Progressives Congress has concluded its senatorial primaries in Imo State, producing Governor Hope Uzodimma, business mogul, Prince (Dr) Alex Mbata and Senator Patrick Ndubueze as candidates for Orlu, Owerri and Okigwe senatorial zones respectively ahead of the 2027 general elections.
At the conclusion of the exercise conducted across the state’s three senatorial zones, Governor Uzodimma emerged winner of the Imo West Senatorial District primary, widely known as Orlu Zone.
The Chairman and Returning Officer of the National Assembly APC Primary Election Committee for Imo State, Rear Admiral Williams Kayoda (retd.), announced the result at the party’s collation centre in Orlu Local Government Area on Monday.
Mr Kayoda disclosed that Governor Uzodimma secured 230,464 votes across the 12 local government areas in the zone, while former governor Rochas Okorocha polled 1,098 votes.
The declaration came amid heightened political tension in the state, with the Orlu contest attracting national attention following reports of a renewed rivalry between the incumbent governor and Okorocha, who governed Imo State from 2011 to 2019 before proceeding to the Senate.
In Owerri Zone, the APC primary ended without a major contest after other aspirants stepped down and endorsed Prince Alex Mbata as consensus candidate for the Imo East Senatorial District ticket.
Mbata, however, went ahead to secure a sweeping victory in the exercise after polling 121,680 votes cast during the primary conducted by the party in the state.
The result was announced on Monday at Owerri Municipal Council headquarters by Rear Admiral Kayode Williams (retd.), chairman of the House of Representatives Primary Elections Committee, who also served as returning officer for the election. Declaring the outcome, Mr Williams said Mbata satisfied all constitutional and party requirements for the contest and scored the highest number of valid votes cast in the primary.
One of the aspirants in the race, Chijioke Kaduru, publicly announced his support for Mbata and urged party members to rally behind the consensus arrangement to strengthen the APC’s chances in the 2027 general elections.
A similar development played out in Okigwe Zone, where serving Senator Patrick Ndubueze emerged as the party’s candidate for Imo North after several aspirants withdrew from the race and declared support for him ahead of the primary.
Among those said to have stepped down in Okigwe Zone were Longers Anyanwu and Gloria Akobundu, whose withdrawals further cleared the path for Ndubueze’s emergence as the party’s consensus candidate.
Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, who did not step down for Senator Ndubueze secured 79 votes, while the incumbent Senator polled 108, 826 votes to emerge winner of the contest.
