Tinubu has broken Imo’s shackles — Okorocha hails court judgment

Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has praised President Bola Tinubu following a Federal High Court judgment recognising him as the All Progressives Congress candidate for Imo West Senatorial District, saying the ruling has broken the shackles holding the state. Okorocha spoke on Thursday while hosting his legal team after the judgment delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The court ruled 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 as its candidate for the January 16, 2027 senatorial election. The court also directed Governor Hope Uzodimma to stop parading himself as the party’s candidate. Reacting to the judgment, Okorocha thanked the judiciary for standing on the side of justice, describing the outcome as 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,” he said. The former governor also linked the judgment to the symbolic shackle on Tinubu’s traditional cap, suggesting that the President’s position had become clearer through the court’s decision.

“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,” Okorocha said. He expressed gratitude to Tinubu, although he did not provide direct evidence that the President had intervened in the legal dispute or influenced the court’s decision.

The judgment followed a legal battle in which Okorocha challenged INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the APC’s candidate for Imo West. The dispute attracted further attention earlier this month after INEC petitioned the police and the Department of State Services over a disputed document circulating online that purported to name Okorocha as the winner of the primary.

INEC maintained that its official report recognised Uzodimma as the winner. Okorocha also addressed reports surrounding his alleged arrest, saying he deliberately refrained from commenting when the news broke. “When the news broke out that I was arrested, I refused to make any comments,” he said. He, however, questioned the documents presented during the dispute over the APC primary, particularly the claims that Uzodimma emerged through consensus and the discrepancies he alleged in the dates recorded in the documents.

Okorocha questioned how a document could indicate that Uzodimma emerged through consensus when, according to him, individual scores were recorded. He also raised questions about a document he said listed the primary election date as May 16, rather than May 18, when the exercise was held. “So which one did the court really dwell on?” he asked, seeking clarification on the documentary evidence underpinning the dispute.

The controversy had intensified 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 asked security agencies to investigate the circulation of a different document purportedly naming Okorocha as the winner. The latest judgment marks a significant development in the contest for the APC ticket in Imo West ahead of the 2027 general elections.