Hope Uzodinma: I'm not happy over court judgement - Okorocha

Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has said he is unhappy that the Federal High Court in Abuja declared him the winner of the All Progressives Congress, APC, senatorial primary for Imo West.

Okorocha was reacting to the court’s ruling ordering Governor Hope Uzodinma to stop parading himself as the APC candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District election scheduled for January 16, 2027.

The former governor said Justice Obiora Egwuatu’s ruling had corrected the allegations against him, insisting that his political opponents were at fault.

The judge ruled that evidence presented before the court established that Okorocha won the majority of votes cast during the APC primary.

Egwuatu consequently ordered the APC to recognise Okorocha as the winner of the primary and forward his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as the party’s candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District election in the 2027 general elections.

However, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Okorocha said he was unhappy about the circumstances surrounding the court’s declaration but was pleased that the allegations against him had been addressed.

“Thousands of Nigerians have called and come to my office to congratulate me. I’m also not happy that I was declared the winner, but my happiness lies in the fact that the misgivings have been corrected,” he said.

He recalled that Channels Television had reported his alleged arrest over forgery involving documents relating to the Imo West senatorial primary.

“If you recall, this started in your station, Channels, that I was arrested for forgery with documents relating to the Imo West senatorial primaries, but the court has put that to rest today, saying that it’s not true.

“So, if there is anybody at fault, it’s the opponents that forged all the documents, but my problem is that we have not gone so much into investigative journalism, and if that had taken place, this false rumour wouldn’t have taken place,” he added.

Okorocha also insisted that he had never been arrested by the Nigeria Police Force.

“I wasn’t arrested and never was I arrested; this court victory today has put that to rest somehow,” he said.