The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has denied allegations that he influenced the Federal High Court judgment which removed Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District and recognised former Governor Rochas Okorocha as the party’s lawful candidate for the 2027 general election.
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Wike dismissed those linking him to the judgment as mischievous, maintaining that he was neither a member of the APC nor a party to the suit instituted by Okorocha challenging Uzodimma’s nomination.
Speaking during a live media chat in Port Harcourt on Thursday, November 5, 2026, the former Rivers State Governor questioned why his name was being associated with a judicial decision arising from an internal dispute over the APC senatorial primary election.
“First of all, 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,” Wike said.
He maintained that attempts to connect him with the court’s decision were unfounded, particularly because the dispute involved two prominent members of the APC who contested the party’s Imo West senatorial ticket.
The minister’s reaction followed speculation that the judgment favouring Okorocha was connected to his political disagreement with Uzodimma over the proposed Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party political arrangement associated with efforts to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Wike and Uzodimma have publicly disagreed over the coalition, with the Imo State Governor insisting that APC members should support the party’s officially nominated candidates rather than participate in political arrangements that could undermine the party’s interests.
Referring to the disagreement, Wike recalled reports that Uzodimma had warned supporters against promoting the Rainbow Coalition in Imo State shortly before the court delivered its judgment.
According to the minister, the governor had threatened to withdraw vehicles from persons participating in political activities outside the APC’s approved arrangements.
“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,” Wike stated.
The FCT Minister criticised the reported warning, describing it as an inappropriate response to political differences.
He questioned the suggestion that the disagreement over the Rainbow Coalition could establish his involvement in a judicial proceeding brought by Okorocha.
Wike also addressed a video circulating on social media showing him dancing with Okorocha, which some commentators had linked to the former governor’s court victory.
He explained that the footage was recorded years earlier when he hosted Okorocha during his tenure as Governor of Imo State.
“Now they showed the video where Rochas and I danced when I hosted him when he was governor. So that was that dance,” he clarified.
The minister maintained that the old footage had no connection with the recent Federal High Court judgment.
The video resurfaced after Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, delivered judgment on October 29, 2026, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, declaring Okorocha the lawful winner of the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026.
In the judgment, the court held that the evidence before it established that Okorocha, rather than Uzodimma, emerged victorious in the primary election monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice Egwuatu consequently set aside INEC’s publication of Uzodimma’s name as the APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District and directed the commission to recognise and publish Okorocha’s name instead.
The court also restrained Uzodimma from presenting himself as the party’s candidate for the senatorial election scheduled for January 16, 2027.
The judgment followed an originating summons filed by Okorocha on August 13, 2026, challenging the APC’s decision to submit Uzodimma’s name to INEC despite documents which he maintained established his victory in the primary.
Okorocha argued that the party had no legal authority to substitute his name with that of Uzodimma after the conclusion of a valid primary election.
During the proceedings, the parties presented conflicting documents concerning the outcome of the May 18 primary.
Documents relied upon by Okorocha indicated that he secured 150,780 votes against Uzodimma’s 102,158 votes.
However, the APC and Uzodimma relied on a different set of results showing that the governor received 230,464 votes, while Okorocha polled 1,098 votes.
In resolving the dispute, Justice Egwuatu examined the competing documentary evidence and identified inconsistencies in the materials presented to support Uzodimma’s nomination.
The court held that INEC was bound by the reports of its officials who monitored the primary election and could not disregard the authentic result without a lawful basis.
Justice Egwuatu also held that the submission of Uzodimma’s name, despite Okorocha having emerged as the lawful winner, contravened the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, including Section 29 governing the submission of candidates who emerged from valid party primaries.
The court consequently declared that Okorocha was entitled to have his name submitted to INEC as the APC candidate for Imo West.
However, Uzodimma rejected the judgment, describing it through his spokesperson, Oguike Nwachuku, as a travesty of justice.
The governor’s camp maintained that Uzodimma validly won the primary and accused Okorocha of relying on disputed documents to challenge the nomination.
The APC also challenged the judgment at the Court of Appeal and filed an application seeking to stay its execution pending the determination of the appeal.
The party argued that Okorocha’s suit was filed outside the constitutionally prescribed period for commencing pre-election matters and challenged the trial court’s assessment of the evidence.
The appeal and application for a stay formed part of efforts to overturn the judgment and prevent INEC from implementing the substitution order before appellate review.
The filing of an appeal, however, does not automatically suspend the judgment, unless an appropriate court grants a stay or makes another applicable order.
Meanwhile, the judgment intensified the political disagreement between Okorocha and Uzodimma, both former and serving governors of Imo State.
Okorocha accused the governor’s supporters of attacking the judiciary because the judgment was unfavourable to their political interests.
He urged Uzodimma to challenge the decision through the appellate process rather than permit criticisms capable of undermining public confidence in the courts.
The former governor also expressed support for the idea of a Rainbow Coalition, arguing that politicians from different parties could cooperate to support President Tinubu’s re-election without necessarily abandoning their respective political affiliations.
He maintained that cross-party cooperation should be encouraged where it serves broader political and governance objectives.
His position brought renewed attention to the disagreement between Wike and Uzodimma over the coalition.
Uzodimma, who chairs the Progressive Governors Forum, had previously defended the commitment of APC governors to supporting candidates nominated by the party at all levels.
The governors maintained that they would not endorse political arrangements capable of weakening the APC or undermining its candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wike, however, has argued that the Rainbow Coalition is intended to mobilise support for Tinubu across party lines and does not necessarily require participants to support every APC candidate in other electoral contests.
The disagreement has created tensions among political figures who support Tinubu’s re-election but hold different positions on governorship and legislative contests.
Against this background, the Federal High Court judgment favouring Okorocha generated suggestions that the outcome reflected the political differences between Wike and Uzodimma.
Those suggestions were further amplified by the circulation of the old video showing Wike and Okorocha dancing together.
However, the footage does not establish any connection between the minister and the judicial proceedings.
Wike has now expressly denied involvement, insisting that he did not institute the action, was not a member of the APC and had no role in the court’s determination of the dispute.
The judgment itself arose from the competing claims of Okorocha and Uzodimma concerning the May 18, 2026, APC senatorial primary and the documentary evidence placed before the Federal High Court.
While Wike’s disagreement with Uzodimma over the Rainbow Coalition remains a separate political issue, the legality of the APC’s nomination for Imo West is now the subject of appellate proceedings.
The FCT Minister maintained that attempts to attribute the outcome to him were mischievous and rejected the suggestion that his past political association with Okorocha provided evidence of interference in the judicial process.
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