Former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has hailed President Bola Tinubu following a Federal High Court judgment recognising him as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Okorocha described the judgment as a turning point for Imo State, declaring that the decision had broken the shackles holding the state.
He spoke on Thursday while hosting his legal team after Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered the ruling.
The court held that Okorocha won the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026, and ordered the party to submit his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate for the January 16, 2027 senatorial election.
The court also directed Governor Hope Uzodimma to stop presenting himself as the party’s candidate for the district.
Reacting to the ruling, the former governor expressed appreciation to the judiciary, saying the decision demonstrated a commitment to justice and represented a victory for the people of Imo State.
“I thank the judiciary for standing on the side of justice. I could imagine what would have happened in the state if they decided to twist justice. This is a victory for Imo State,” Okorocha said.
He also linked the judgment to the symbolic shackle associated with Tinubu’s traditional cap, suggesting that the court’s decision reflected the President’s position on the political situation in Imo State.
“This is also the first time the Imo people will understand the sign of the shackle on President Tinubu’s cap. By this judgment, the shackle on Imo State has been broken, and it is also evident that the President is tired of this nonsense and that he is not in support of it,” he said.
Okorocha thanked Tinubu but did not present evidence that the President had intervened in the dispute or influenced the court’s decision.
The legal battle arose from Okorocha’s challenge to INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District.
The dispute attracted further attention after INEC petitioned the police and the Department of State Services over the circulation of a disputed document online which purportedly identified Okorocha as the winner of the party’s primary.
The electoral commission had maintained that its official report showed Uzodimma as the winner of the exercise.
Okorocha also addressed reports of his alleged arrest, explaining that he deliberately refrained from commenting when the news emerged.
“When the news broke out that I was arrested, I refused to make any comments,” he said.
He further questioned the documents presented during the dispute, particularly the claim that Uzodimma emerged through consensus despite the recording of individual scores.
The former governor also queried an alleged discrepancy in the dates of the primary, noting that one document reportedly listed May 16, 2026, instead of May 18, the date he said the election was conducted.
“So which one did the court really dwell on?” he asked, raising questions about the documentary evidence surrounding the contested primary.
The controversy had deepened after INEC maintained that the official result submitted to its headquarters showed Uzodimma winning with 230,464 votes against Okorocha’s 1,098 votes.
The commission subsequently called on security agencies to investigate the circulation of the alternative document.
