Okorocha chasing shadows, Uzodimma says, vows to appeal court judgement

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has vowed to appeal the Federal High Court judgement recognising his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 elections, describing the former governor as “chasing shadows”.

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Mr Uzodimma’s Chief Press Secretary, Oguike Nwachuku, said the governor considered the judgement a “travesty of justice” and was confident it would be overturned by the Court of Appeal.

“Obviously, the Governor will appeal the judgement which is a travesty of justice,” Mr Nwachuku told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday in response to questions about Mr Okorocha’s allegations against the governor and his (Okorocha) account of the disputed APC senatorial primary.

The governor’s response followed Mr Okorocha’s appearance on Arise News’ Prime Time on Thursday, where he claimed that he remained the dominant political figure in the APC in Imo State and accused Mr Uzodimma of relying on documents containing irregularities to secure the party’s senatorial ticket.

Mr Okorocha had declared that “the structure of APC in Imo State is Rochas”, insisting that his political influence in the state remained intact despite opposition from the governor’s camp.

In a PREMIUM TIMES report the former governor also alleged that documents supporting Mr Uzodimma’s emergence as the party’s candidate contained inconsistencies, including discrepancies in the primary’s date, the description of the exercise as a consensus arrangement and result sheets allegedly completed by one person across 144 wards and 12 local government areas.

Mr Nwachuku, however, dismissed Mr Okorocha’s account and insisted that the governor won the primary by an overwhelming margin.

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Uzodimma’s account of the primary

According to the governor’s spokesperson, there was a direct primary in Imo West because Mr Okorocha rejected the consensus arrangement adopted in the other two senatorial districts.

He said political stakeholders in Owerri Zone, which produces the Imo East senatorial seat, and Okigwe Zone, which produces Imo North, opted for consensus arrangements that produced Prince Alex Mbata and Senator Patrick Ndubueze, respectively.

Mr Nwachuku said Mr Okorocha insisted on contesting against Mr Uzodimma across the 12 local government areas in Imo West.

He insisted that the governor won the contest with 230,464 votes against Mr Okorocha’s 1,098 votes.

The spokesperson said officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were present during the exercise, while the APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee, led by its chairman and returning officer, Williams Kayoda a retired rear admiral supervised the process across the local government areas.

He maintained that the outcome was legitimate and accused Mr Okorocha of attempting to undermine the APC by challenging the result.

“Rochas Okorocha is simply chasing shadows and intentionally working against the interest of the APC he claims to be a founding member and the re-election of President Bola Tinubu,” he said.

Dispute over APC leadership

Mr Nwachuku also rejected Mr Okorocha’s claim to control the APC structure in Imo State, arguing that the party’s rules recognise sitting governors as leaders of the party in their respective states.

He said President Bola Tinubu remained the national leader of the APC, while Mr Uzodimma controlled the party’s structure in Imo State.

“By the APC rules, the governors are the leaders of the party in their states while the president is the leader in the country. I’m not aware that rule has changed,” he said.

He accused Mr Okorocha of attempting to personalise a party structure that belonged collectively to its members, adding that the former governor was unwilling to submit to the party’s leadership.

Mr Nwachuku also criticised Mr Okorocha’s eight-year administration in Imo State, describing it as a family system of government and blaming his performance in office for his alleged loss of political relevance.

He dismissed the former governor’s public celebration of the court judgement, arguing that the ruling would not survive an appeal.

“No responsible leader anywhere in the world will appear on television the way Okorocha did to celebrate a judgement he knows will be thrown out at the appeal for lacking in facts and for being against the rules of the party,” he said.

He also dismissed Mr Okorocha’s claims of continued popularity among voters in Imo West and the state.

Mr Nwachuku concluded his response with the expression caveat emptor, meaning buyer beware, urging the public to scrutinise the former governor’s claims.

Background to the court dispute

The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, had ruled in favour of Mr Okorocha in the dispute over the APC’s Imo West senatorial primary.

The court declared him the validly nominated candidate of the party and directed INEC to recognise him for the 2027 senatorial election.

The judgement followed a suit filed by Mr Okorocha challenging INEC’s recognition of Mr Uzodimma as the winner of the party’s 18 May primary.

During his interview, Mr Okorocha said he obtained certified copies of documents relating to the primary from INEC on 26 July 2026, while documents supporting Mr Uzodimma’s emergence were presented to the commission on 22 August.

He alleged that the later documents contained inconsistencies, including a discrepancy in the date of the election and the description of Mr Uzodimma’s emergence as a consensus candidate despite the existence of competing aspirants.

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He further claimed that result sheets covering more than 300 polling units across 144 wards and 12 local government areas were completed by one person.

Mr Okorocha also questioned the circumstances surrounding a letter allegedly submitted to the APC national chairman by the Imo resident electoral commissioner, arguing that the document supporting his own claim was certified by INEC, while the one supporting Mr Uzodimma was certified by the APC.

He alleged that these discrepancies were part of the evidence that persuaded the court to recognise him as the winner.

However, Mr Okorocha’s allegations of document irregularities and forgery remain disputed by the governor’s camp. Mr Nwachuku insisted that the primary was properly conducted under the supervision of INEC officials and the APC’s national election committee.

The APC had also indicated that it would study the judgement and pursue available legal remedies.

The dispute is the latest chapter in the political rivalry between the two men. Mr Okorocha governed Imo State from 2011 to 2019 and subsequently represented Imo West in the Senate from 2019 to 2023.

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