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Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma has reportedly purchased nomination forms for the Orlu Zone senatorial seat, signaling an intention to leave Government House in Owerri for a return to the National Assembly — and, according to political insiders, to position himself for the Senate Presidency.
The development was disclosed in a political update circulating Thursday, May 1, with sources indicating that the governor’s entry into the race carries direct implications for the current occupant of the seat. Orlu Zone Senator Osita Izunaso, the update suggested, would not be returning to the Red Chamber when the political dust settles.
Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi is separately said to be “strongly being penciled” for an unspecified role as part of the emerging political arrangement, though details of what position he is being positioned for were not made available.
Read also: $1 Trillion Economy Goal Set At Imo Summit, Uzodinma Says
The nomination form purchases from Imo State’s three senatorial zones paint a picture of uneven interest in the 2027 race as of May 1. Orlu Zone has recorded one aspirant — Uzodimma, if the reports are accurate — while Okigwe Zone has attracted three and Owerri Zone four, making the state capital’s district the most contested of the three.
Uzodimma’s path to the Senate is not without precedent — he represented Orlu Zone in the upper chamber before his election as governor, meaning a return would be a restoration of a position he held rather than a reach for new ground. What would be genuinely new is the Senate Presidency ambition. If he secures the Orlu seat and arrives in the Red Chamber with sufficient support among incoming colleagues, political watchers say he could reshape the calculations around who leads the 10th Senate.
The political update that carried the information concluded with an unusual instruction — that “calls on this matter won’t be entertained” — suggesting the source had no intention of fielding further questions or clarifications about the disclosures.
