Imo, with its capital at Owerri, is the most populous state in the South-East and one of its most politically volatile. Its governorship has passed between four parties since 1999, a sitting governor has been voted out, and in 2020 it was the subject of one of the most criticised judgments in Nigeria’s electoral history. Because of that judgment, Imo now votes off-cycle, in November.
1999 and 2003: Udenwa
Achike Udenwa, a lawyer, won the January 1999 election for the PDP with 388,680 votes. He was re-elected in April 2003 with 695,405 votes against 142,942 for Ezekiel Izogu of APGA. Udenwa later served as Minister of Commerce.
2007: Ohakim and the PDP’s ticket fight
The PDP’s 2007 governorship ticket was the subject of a bitter dispute: Ifeanyi Ararume won the primary, the party replaced him, and the Supreme Court restored him days before the vote, after which the PDP campaigned against its own candidate. Ikedi Ohakim of the Progressive Peoples Alliance won with 749,800 votes to Ararume’s 309,273. Ohakim joined the PDP in 2009.
2011: Okorocha unseats Ohakim
Rochas Okorocha, a businessman who had sought both the governorship and the presidency before, won the April 2011 election on the APGA ticket with 336,859 votes against 290,496 for Ohakim, making Ohakim the only Imo governor so far to lose a re-election bid. Okorocha took his supporters into the APC in 2013.
2015: Okorocha against Ihedioha
On 11 April 2015 Okorocha, now the APC candidate, led the PDP’s Emeka Ihedioha, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, but the result was inconclusive. After a supplementary vote on 25 April he was declared re-elected with 416,996 votes to Ihedioha’s 320,705.
2019 and 2020: the judgment
In March 2019 Ihedioha won at the second attempt. INEC declared him the winner with 273,404 votes, ahead of Okorocha’s son-in-law Uche Nwosu, Ifeanyi Ararume and, in fourth place, the APC’s Hope Uzodimma on 96,458. Ihedioha was sworn in on 29 May 2019, and the tribunal and the Court of Appeal upheld his election.
On 14 January 2020 the Supreme Court ruled that results from 388 polling units had been unlawfully excluded from the count. Adding them, it said, raised Uzodimma’s total to 309,753, above Ihedioha’s, and it declared Uzodimma governor. He was sworn in the next day. Observers, including the Situation Room coalition, criticised the court for not explaining how it computed the figures or what other candidates had polled in those units, and the decision set off protests.
2023: Uzodimma’s landslide
Because Uzodimma’s term began in January 2020, Imo held its next election off-cycle, on 11 November 2023. Uzodimma won all 27 local governments with 540,308 votes, far ahead of the PDP’s Samuel Anyanwu on 71,503 and the Labour Party’s Athan Achonu on 64,081. Observers reported vote buying and serious irregularities in parts of the state.
The results at a glance
| Year | Winner (party) | Votes | Runner-up (party) | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Achike Udenwa (PDP) | 388,680 | APP candidate | not published |
| 2003 | Achike Udenwa (PDP) | 695,405 | Ezekiel Izogu (APGA) | 142,942 |
| 2007 | Ikedi Ohakim (PPA) | 749,800 | Ifeanyi Ararume (PDP) | 309,273 |
| 2011 | Rochas Okorocha (APGA) | 336,859 | Ikedi Ohakim (PDP) | 290,496 |
| 2015 | Rochas Okorocha (APC) | 416,996 | Emeka Ihedioha (PDP) | 320,705 |
| 2019 | Hope Uzodimma (APC), by Supreme Court judgment | 309,753 | Emeka Ihedioha (PDP), first declared winner | 273,404 |
| 2023 | Hope Uzodimma (APC) | 540,308 | Samuel Anyanwu (PDP) | 71,503 |
What comes next
Imo does not vote for governor in the February 2027 general elections. Uzodimma is term-limited, and the next governorship election is due in late 2027, alongside Bayelsa and Kogi.
