Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike denied any role in a Federal High Court judgment that recognized former Imo State governor Rochas Okorocha as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo West senatorial district in the 2027 elections. Wike made the comments during a live media chat in Port Harcourt on Thursday.
Labeling the allegations “mischievous,” the minister said he neither filed the suit nor participated in the legal proceedings, adding, “I didn’t go to court. I’m not in APC. I don’t know what the issue is.”
Wike also reacted to reports that Imo Governor Hope Uzodimma had warned, a day before the judgment, that he would seize the vehicles of anyone promoting a “Rainbow Coalition” in the state. Describing the warning as “very, very uncivilised,” the minister said the statement was inappropriate.
Addressing a video circulating online that showed him dancing with Okorocha, Wike clarified that the footage was recorded when he hosted the former governor while Okorocha was still in office, and that the dance was part of that occasion.
The court ruling, delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu in Abuja, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to replace Governor Uzodimma’s name with Okorocha’s as the APC candidate for Imo West. The judge found that Okorocha had emerged the winner of the party’s senatorial primary held on 18 May 2026, securing the majority of valid votes.
Okorocha had filed the case after INEC initially recognised Uzodimma as the primary winner. While the Imo State chapter of the APC has contested the decision, Governor Uzodimma has indicated he will appeal the judgment.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>