Wike Reacts to Allegation Linking Him to Judgement in Favour of Okorocha Over Uzodinma
- FCT Minister Nyesom Wike denied any link to the Federal High Court judgment that unseated Imo Governor Hope Uzodimma as the APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District
- Wike called suggestions linking him to the ruling mischievous, saying he neither filed nor participated in the court case
- The controversy came amid tensions between Wike and Uzodimma over the proposed Rainbow Coalition backing President Tinubu's 2027 re-election bid
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Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over eight years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has pushed back against speculation that he was behind the court ruling that stripped Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma of his status as the All Progressives Congress candidate for Imo West Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 elections.
Legit.ng reports that the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must publish the name of former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha as the APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Source: Facebook
Wike spoke during a live media chat on Thursday, saying that anyone linking his name to the judgment was being mischievous.
"I didn't go to court. I'm not in APC. I don't know what the issue is," he said.
What the court ruled
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered the judgment on October 29, ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise former Imo governor Rochas Okorocha, not Uzodimma, as the rightful APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District.
The court found that Okorocha won the majority of lawful votes at the party's senatorial primary held on May 18, 2026, and directed INEC to swap Uzodimma's name for Okorocha's on its records.
Okorocha had filed the suit challenging INEC's earlier recognition of the governor as the primary winner.
The Imo State chapter of the APC has since disputed the ruling, and Uzodimma has signalled his intention to appeal.
Wike addresses the controversy
Part of what fuelled speculation about Wike's involvement was a reported warning Uzodimma made a day before the judgment, in which the governor allegedly threatened to seize the vehicles of anyone promoting a "Rainbow Coalition" in Imo State. Wike called that threat uncivilised.
"They were saying that because a day before that judgment was given, he had openly warned people that, 'No Rainbow Coalition here. If I see… I'll collect the vehicle for you.' Very, very uncivilised," he said.
Wike also addressed a video circulating online that showed him dancing with Okorocha. He clarified that the footage was from a time when he hosted the former governor while Okorocha was still in office.
"Now they showed the video where Rochas and I danced when I hosted him when he was governor. So that was that dance," he said.
The political tension between the two men is rooted in disagreements over the Rainbow Coalition, an arrangement that seeks to mobilise politicians from different parties to support President Bola Tinubu's re-election in 2027, without requiring members to abandon their own parties or back APC candidates in other contests.
Wike, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, has maintained that the arrangement allows PDP supporters to vote for Tinubu in the presidential election while still backing their party's candidates for governorship and legislative seats. On Thursday, he insisted that supporting the president remained his overriding priority.
"Your business is to make sure, first things is, Mr President wins the election. As it is today, anybody who talks about the priority… should be that Mr President wins the election. That's my priority," he said.
APC reacts to court ruling sacking Uzodinma as Imo West candidate
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that the APC in Imo State said it would appeal a Federal High Court ruling on Hope Uzodimma's 2027 senatorial candidacy.
A Federal High Court in Abuja sacked Uzodimma as the APC's candidate for Imo West and recognised Rochas Okorocha instead.
APC spokesperson Jones Onwuasoanya said the party's legal department would study the judgement before taking the next step.
Source: Legit.ng
