Okorocha slams Uzodimma, vows ‘Rainbow Coalition’ for Tinubu

Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has described current Imo governor Hope Uzodimma as an opportunist, saying he lacks the political power to carry the Southeast.

Okorocha also noted that Uzodimma doesn’t beat his popularity among the Imo people, saying he (Uzodimma) only exists in the Aso Villa.

On Thursday, Okorocha had commended a Federal High Court judgment on the All Progressives Congress senatorial primary in Imo West as a victory for the judiciary, democracy and the Nigerian Constitution.

Following conflicting claims over the outcome of the APC primary ahead of the 2027 elections, Okorocha had sued the ruling APC and others, seeking a declaration that he was the authentic party candidate for Imo West Senatorial District, as opposed to Uzodimma, who was declared by the party.

Uzodimma was declared the winner and recognised by INEC, which maintained that the official results showed that the governor polled 230,464 votes, while Okorocha received 1,098 votes. However, a separate document subsequently circulated, purporting to show that Okorocha won the primary with 150,780 votes.

Okorocha challenged Uzodimma’s recognition at the Federal High Court in Abuja in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, asking the court to determine whether INEC was right to recognise the incumbent governor as the party’s candidate.

The suit also raised questions about Uzodimma’s eligibility to contest the 2027 senatorial election while serving as governor, whose tenure is expected to end in January 2028.

During his interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today programme on Thursday, Okorocha stated that the incumbent governor can’t beat his record when he was in power.

“I will not tell you anything here. But go and ask about my record. So what is important to me now is how Asiwaju will be re-elected in Imo State.

“With my name coming on the ballot paper now, Asiwaju can be sure that his victory is guaranteed in Imo State

“Hope Uzodimma cannot be worked with by anybody because he is a chance man. He’s an opportunist. What preoccupies his mind now is not even the governance,” he said.

Okorocha added that he would form a Rainbow Coalition, similar to that of the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, to seek support for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

“And this is why I commend people like Wike when they talk about Rainbow Coalition. You know what Rainbow Coalition means? Let’s go beyond politics and talk about governance,” Okorocha said, saying if he sees someone “who can do well, even though he’s not from my party, let’s give him support. That’s what is called governance.

“As I live here now, we’re going to start Rainbow Coalition. We’re going to bring PDP, all of them, to support Tinubu to win, and some people will step down from their positions to just make sure we achieve one common goal.

“Hope cannot carry Imo; cannot carry Southeast. It’s in Abuja, in the villa here that Hope exists. He doesn’t exist down here, and I challenge him. Let’s move out and call the people and see what will happen.”

Okorocha further noted that Uzodimma intends to hold two government positions, in which he would be in power as a governor till 2028, while also seeking a senatorial seat in 2027.

This, he said, is unlawful under the Constitution.

“The point we are making is that Hope Uzodinma has a tenure of eight years to elapse in January 2028. Hope is contesting for Senate, which starts in May 2027. What that means is that Hope Uzodinma is holding a paid job and seeking another paid job. So the question in the mind of everybody is: if Hope Uzodinma now is a governor under Section 183 of the Constitution, which says that you shall not hold two paid jobs, then for you to hold a paid job and seek another paid job means that you either don’t want the one you are holding and want to seek another one.

“The question is, the Constitution never insists on what situation will ever arise that a normal person holding a position of governor will abandon it to go for Senate.

“But the courts made a very clear statement on that, and it’s not lawful for him to do that because, if he wins it, he’s going to be holding two paid jobs. So what that means, in really practical terms, if we’re talking about common sense, I’m not talking about law now, is that Hope Usodima is deemed to have resigned as governor for seeking another job because if he becomes a senator, definitely he must resign as a governor.

“So that’s the situation we find ourselves in; I’ll build that point, but that is not the point that took us to court that much. What took us to court was on the character of the papers presented by both parties,” Okorocha said.

Former Anambra State governor and 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, had advocated a four-year term for presidents.

Commenting on this, Okorocha noted that while he doesn’t encourage the Igbo people to abandon their own (Obi), he believes the four-year term suggestion is a “gamble.”

“It’s not abandonment; it is to clearly explain to the people the implications of what we’re doing. We’re gambling with four years. We’re gambling with four. It’s a gamble. How will that help us if we lose the four years now, and in the same circumstances we’re not getting the support of the Southwest or the Northwest when it is our turn to seek the presidential election?” he queried.

“Obi is a fantastic gentleman, clear in his head, cool; there’s nothing wrong with him, but we can’t gamble. We can’t do four years of gambling this time. I was for that four years ago, and I strongly believe that it should be. Once it’s gone and the plane has taken off, please allow it to land because it will be a reference point for years to come.

“So we are supporting Tinubu not on an emotional and sentimental basis, but for a strategic alliance, so the next time we could say we supported; we need support for this time,” he added.