Wike Denies Link to Court Judgment Favouring Okorocha Over Uzodimma

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has denied having any connection to a Federal High Court judgment that recognised former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election.

Wike made the clarification during a live media chat on Thursday, November 5, 2026, describing suggestions linking him to the ruling as mischievous.

“First of all, anybody calling my name is being mischievous. I didn’t go to court. I’m not in APC. I don’t know what the issue is,” he said.

The controversy followed a judgment delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on October 29, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Okorocha as the APC candidate for Imo West and replace the name of incumbent Governor Hope Uzodimma.

The case arose from Okorocha’s challenge to INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the winner of the party’s senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026. The court ruled that the evidence before it showed Okorocha had secured the majority of lawful votes.

The judgment has been disputed by the Imo State chapter of the APC, while Uzodimma has indicated plans to appeal the decision.

Wike also addressed a video circulating online showing him dancing with Okorocha, explaining that the footage was recorded when he hosted the former governor while he was still in office. He dismissed suggestions that the video demonstrated any involvement in the court case.

The minister further criticised a reported warning by Uzodimma against supporters of the proposed “Rainbow Coalition” in Imo State, describing an alleged threat to seize the vehicles of those promoting the alliance as “very, very uncivilised.”

The Rainbow Coalition is an arrangement intended to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid across party lines. Wike has maintained that members of the Peoples Democratic Party can support Tinubu for president while backing their party’s candidates in other elections.

Okorocha recently praised the coalition proposal and said he planned to establish a similar alliance in Imo State.

Wike reiterated that his priority was to secure support for Tinubu’s re-election, arguing that political allies did not necessarily have to support the same candidates at every level of the election.

The dispute over the Imo West ticket remains subject to the ongoing legal process, with the appeal expected to determine the next stage of the contest.