Uzodimma plans to appeal court ruling that favours Okorocha

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has said he will appeal the Federal High Court ruling that recognized his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 elections. He called the former governor a person “chasing shadows.”

Uzodimma’s Chief Press Secretary, Oguike Nwachuku, stated that the governor sees the ruling as a “travesty of justice.” He believes the Court of Appeal will overturn it.

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

The governor’s comments came after Mr Okorocha appeared on Arise News’ Prime Time on Thursday. He claimed he is still the main political figure in the APC in Imo State. He accused Uzodimma of using documents with irregularities to get the party’s senatorial ticket.

Mr Okorocha declared, “the structure of APC in Imo State is Rochas,” asserting that his political power in the state is still strong despite the governor’s opposition.

In a PREMIUM TIMES report, the former governor also claimed that documents supporting Uzodimma’s candidacy had inconsistencies. He pointed out issues like wrong dates for the primary, calling it a consensus arrangement, and result sheets that seemed filled out by one person across 144 wards and 12 local government areas.

Nwachuku dismissed Okorocha’s claims. He insisted that the governor won the primary by a large margin. He said there was a direct primary in Imo West because Okorocha turned down the consensus method used in the other two senatorial districts.

He explained that political leaders in Owerri Zone, which covers Imo East, and Okigwe Zone, which covers Imo North, agreed on consensus arrangements that led to Prince Alex Mbata and Senator Patrick Ndubueze becoming candidates.

Nwachuku said Okorocha chose to contest Uzodimma across all 12 local government areas in Imo West. He stressed that the governor won with 230,464 votes, while Okorocha had only 1,098 votes.

The spokesperson mentioned that officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were there during the primary. The APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee, led by Williams Kayoda, a retired rear admiral, supervised the process.

He maintained that the result was legitimate and accused Okorocha of trying to disrupt the APC by questioning the outcome. “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.

Nwachuku rejected Okorocha’s claim to lead the APC in Imo State. He argued that party rules say sitting governors are the leaders in their states. He added that President Bola Tinubu is the national leader of the APC while Uzodimma leads the party 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 Okorocha of trying to make the party structure personal when it belongs to all members. Nwachuku also criticized Okorocha’s eight years in office, saying it resembled a family business and was why he lost political relevance.

He dismissed Okorocha’s public celebration of the court ruling as foolish. He insisted that the judgement would not stand on appeal.

“No responsible leader anywhere 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 rejected Okorocha’s claims of still being popular among voters in Imo West and the state.

Nwachuku wrapped up his response with the phrase caveat emptor, which means buyer beware. He urged people to look closely at Okorocha’s claims.

The Federal High Court in Abuja, led by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, had ruled in favor of Mr Okorocha in the dispute over the APC’s Imo West senatorial primary. The court named him the official candidate of the party and told INEC to recognize him for the 2027 senatorial election.

The ruling came after Okorocha filed a suit against INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the winner of the party’s primary held on 18 May.

During his interview, Okorocha said he got certified copies of documents about the primary from INEC on 26 July 2026. He stated that the documents supporting Uzodimma’s candidacy were submitted to the commission on 22 August.

He claimed that the later documents had inconsistencies, such as the election date and labeling Uzodimma as a consensus candidate when there were other contestants.

Okorocha also said result sheets from over 300 polling units across 144 wards and 12 local government areas were filled out by one individual. He asked about a letter supposedly submitted to the APC national chairman by the Imo resident electoral commissioner. He said the document backing his claim was certified by INEC, while Uzodimma’s was certified by the APC.

He alleged that these issues were part of the proof that made the court recognize him as the winner. But Okorocha’s claims of document problems and forgery are disputed by the governor’s team. Nwachuku insisted the primary was properly done under INEC’s supervision and the APC’s national election committee.

The APC has also said it will review the judgement and explore legal options. This dispute continues the political rivalry between the two men. Okorocha was Imo State governor from 2011 to 2019 and later served as Senator for Imo West from 2019 to 2023.