I have no link to judgment favouring Okorocha over Uzodimma — Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has denied involvement in the court judgment that removed Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as the All Progressives Congress candidate for Imo West Senatorial District and recognised former governor Rochas Okorocha as the party’s nominee for the 2027 election.

Wike described suggestions linking him to the judgment as mischievous, insisting that he neither instituted nor participated in the court case.

He spoke during a live media chat on Thursday, responding to a question about whether he was behind the Federal High Court judgment delivered on October 29.

“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,” he said.

The minister also addressed speculation surrounding a warning allegedly issued by Uzodimma a day before the judgment, in which the governor reportedly threatened to seize the vehicle of anyone promoting a “Rainbow Coalition” in Imo State.

Wike described the reported threat as uncivilised, saying, “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.”

He also referred to a video showing him dancing with Okorocha at an event, explaining that the footage was from when he hosted the former Imo governor while he was still in office.

“Now they showed the video where Rochas and I danced when I hosted him when he was governor. So that was that dance,” Wike said.

The controversy followed a Federal High Court judgment in Abuja, which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise Okorocha as the APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu ruled that Okorocha, not Uzodimma, won the party’s senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026, and directed INEC to replace the governor’s name with that of the former governor.

The judgment followed a suit filed by Okorocha challenging INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the winner of the primary. The court held that the evidence before it established that Okorocha secured the majority of lawful votes cast.

The ruling has, however, been disputed by the Imo State chapter of the APC, while Uzodimma has indicated plans to appeal.

The speculation linking Wike to the judgment was also fuelled by the political disagreement between the FCT minister and Uzodimma over the proposed Rainbow Coalition, an arrangement aimed at bringing politicians across party lines together to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

The proposed Rainbow Coalition is designed to bring politicians from different parties to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 without necessarily abandoning their parties or supporting APC candidates in other elections.

Wike has said that under the arrangement, PDP members could ask their supporters to vote for Tinubu in the presidential election while backing PDP candidates for governorship and legislative seats.

Wike, who remains a PDP member, has maintained that his support for Tinubu does not prevent the opposition party from fielding candidates in other contests.

In an interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today on October 29, Okorocha praised Wike’s Rainbow Coalition idea and announced plans to establish a similar alliance in Imo State.

The former governor said he intended to bring members of the Peoples Democratic Party and other political groups together to support Tinubu in 2027.

Speaking on Thursday, Wike defended the possibility of politicians supporting the same presidential candidate while maintaining different positions on other electoral contests.

He argued that political allies did not necessarily have to adopt the same campaign strategy or support the same candidates at every level.

“In any case, we are supporting Mr President, for Christ’s sake. Your business is to make sure, first things is, Mr President wins the election. As it is today, anybody who talks about the priority… should be that Mr President wins the election. That’s my priority,” he said.