Wike denies role in ruling that gave Okorocha Imo West APC ticket
- FCT Minister Nyesom Wike says he had nothing to do with the October 29 court ruling favouring Rochas Okorocha.
- The court ordered INEC to recognise Okorocha as APC candidate for Imo West in 2027, not Governor Hope Uzodimma.
- Wike questioned why Uzodimma is wary of the Rainbow Coalition and said Tinubu's re-election is his priority.
Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has rejected claims that he had a hand in the court ruling that handed the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for Imo West Senatorial District to Rochas Okorocha.
Wike spoke on Thursday at his monthly media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where reporters asked him about the October 29 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
"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 court, presided over by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, held that Okorocha, a former Imo governor, won the APC primary of May 18, 2026, and not Governor Hope Uzodimma. It directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Okorocha as the party's candidate for the Imo West seat in the 2027 general election.
Okorocha had gone to court after INEC recognised Uzodimma as the primary winner. The APC in Imo State has rejected the ruling, and Uzodimma has indicated plans to appeal.
Why Wike's name came up
Since the judgment, an old video of Wike and Okorocha dancing together has recirculated online, with some users suggesting it showed the minister worked behind the scenes for Okorocha.
Wike said the footage was from when he hosted Okorocha while the former governor was still in office.
He also pointed to reports that Uzodimma warned, a day before the ruling, that he would seize vehicles of anyone campaigning for the Rainbow Coalition in Imo State. Wike called such a warning uncivilised, and suggested that when the threat did not materialise, people looked for someone else to blame.
"What is Uzodimma afraid of? Our priorities should be working to see the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027," he said.
The Rainbow Coalition is an arrangement Wike has pushed in which politicians from different parties back Tinubu's presidential bid while still supporting their own parties' candidates for governorship and legislative seats. Wike, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member, has argued that this does not stop the opposition from fielding candidates in other races.
Okorocha has praised the idea and said he plans to build a similar alliance in Imo State.
For ordinary voters in Imo West, the legal fight means the name on the APC senatorial line is still unsettled months before the election. Whoever finally appears on the ballot will shape how the district's residents are represented in the Senate.
What happens next
Uzodimma's planned appeal will go to a higher court, which could uphold, overturn or modify the ruling. Until that is decided, INEC's list for Imo West remains in question.
