Hope Uzodinma Has Never Won Any Election — Ex-Gov Okorocha Talks Spits Fire After Court Verdict

Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has accused his successor, Hope Uzodinma, of never having won an election, following a court judgment that nullified his emergence as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election.

LEADERSHIP had previously reported that the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday nullified Uzodinma’s emergence as the APC candidate for the Imo West Senatorial election slated for January 16, 2027.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, the court held that evidence before it established that Uzodinma was not the valid winner of the party’s senatorial primary conducted on May 18 and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The court ruled that Okorocha secured the highest number of votes cast and ought to have been nominated by the party.

Reacting to the judgment during an interview on politics today, Okorocha said Uzodinma had never won an election, alleging that his political victories were secured through the manipulation of election results.

“Hope has never won an election in his life. Let him take you back. Factually speaking, I can run a real election,” the former governor said.

Okorocha alleged that Uzodinma’s victories were the result of arrangements in which election results were allegedly written by individuals rather than reflecting the votes cast by the electorate.

He also referred to previous election disputes involving Uzodinma, claiming that documents presented in court showed manipulated results.

According to him, the judiciary was constrained by the evidence and documents presented before it in previous cases, and he insisted that the courts did not necessarily favour the incumbent governor.

Okorocha further alleged that the same pattern was repeated during the APC primary for the Imo West Senatorial District, which resulted in the legal dispute over the party’s candidate for the 2027 election.

He said Uzodinma’s conduct suggested that he had already assumed he would emerge as the candidate despite the matter being contested in court.

The former governor also expressed satisfaction with Thursday’s judgment, describing it as evidence that the judiciary was not available to the highest bidder.

“I’m glad that the judiciary is no longer for sale. It’s not for sale at all, and it’s not for the highest bidder,” he said.

Okorocha maintained that the court had vindicated his position on the disputed primary, alleging that documents submitted in support of Uzodinma’s candidacy were forged.

The judgment represents a setback for Uzodinma’s bid to secure the APC ticket for the Imo West Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 general election.

However, Okorocha’s allegations concerning Uzodinma’s previous electoral victories remain claims attributed to the former governor, while the court’s findings in the senatorial primary dispute concern the validity of the APC nomination process.

How Uzodimma Became Imo Governor in 2020

Recall that Emeka Ihedioha ceased to be the legitimate Governor of Imo State in 2020. This was after the Supreme Court reversed the cancellation of results from 388 polling units in Imo State governorship election and declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Hope Uzodinma, as winner of the poll.

In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the seven-man panel upheld the appeal filed by Uzodinma on the ground that Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not score the majority of the lawful votes in the election.

The apex court, therefore, ordered that Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) be sworn in immediately as the duly elected governor of Imo State.

The court agreed that results from 388 polling units were unlawfully excluded during the collation of the final results in the state.