The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has denied any involvement in the Federal High Court judgment that nullified the recognition of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections.
Wike made the clarification on Thursday during a media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, describing suggestions linking him to the court decision as mischievous.
The minister insisted that he neither instituted the legal action nor participated in the proceedings, stressing that he was not a member of the APC and had no knowledge of the internal political disputes surrounding the party’s senatorial nomination.
” I didn’t go to court; I’m not from APC. People are saying that because a day before that judgment he had openly warned his people there’s no Rainbow Coalition; if I see you I’ll collect the vehicle. So when the judgment came, they said it was me. How could it have been me?” he said.
The FCT minister, however, acknowledged his political disagreement with Uzodimma over the governor’s opposition to the proposed Rainbow Coalition, an initiative aimed at bringing politicians across party lines together to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Questioning the Imo governor’s reservations about the initiative, Wike asked: “What is Hope Uzodimma afraid of in the Rainbow Coalition?”
He argued that political leaders should prioritise securing President Tinubu’s re-election rather than opposing arrangements designed to broaden support for the President ahead of the next general election.
According to him, the coalition should not be interpreted as an attempt to undermine the interests of individual political parties, particularly as other electoral contests would be determined by additional considerations, including zoning and political arrangements at the National Assembly level.
“Your business is to make sure Mr President wins elections. At the National Assembly level, so many factors come in, including zoning,” Wike stated.
The minister also defended his friendship with former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, insisting that political disagreements involving their associates would not dictate his personal relationships.
“I owe no apologies that Rochas is my friend; after all, he has friends in Rivers State that are my political enemies; will I go and kill them? No!” he said.
Wike further challenged Uzodimma to demonstrate confidence in his political standing rather than oppose the Rainbow Coalition, maintaining that a politically strong individual should not be threatened by the emergence of competing political alliances.
“If he’s a strong man, he shouldn’t be afraid. You’re strong, whatever you see, you take!” the minister added.
The controversy followed a judgment delivered on October 29, 2026, by Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which nullified Uzodimma’s recognition as the APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections.
The court ruled that former governor Rochas Okorocha was the lawful winner of the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026, and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise him as the party’s candidate for the election scheduled for January 16, 2027.
Justice Egwuatu also restrained Uzodimma from parading himself as the APC’s senatorial candidate, holding that the process through which his nomination was recognised did not comply with the party’s primary election guidelines and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
The judgment generated controversy within the Imo APC, with the state chapter rejecting the decision and expressing its disagreement with the court’s findings.
The national party subsequently challenged the ruling at the Court of Appeal and filed an application seeking a stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal.
The legal dispute has consequently introduced another dimension to the political relationship between Uzodimma and Okorocha, two influential figures in Imo State politics.
Wike’s denial comes amid speculation that his longstanding friendship with Okorocha and his disagreement with Uzodimma over the Rainbow Coalition may have influenced the legal outcome.
However, the minister maintained that his personal relationship with Okorocha should not be mistaken for involvement in the litigation.
The development also highlights the growing political tensions surrounding the proposed Rainbow Coalition as political actors begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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