Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has delivered a scathing assessment of Nigeria’s electoral system, claiming that 90 per cent of politicians currently holding public office would not have secured their positions if the country practised genuine democracy.
He made the statement during an interview with Arise News on Thursday, following a Federal High Court judgment that nullified Governor Hope Uzodimma’s emergence as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 elections and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Okorocha as the winner of the party’s May 18 primary.
“If democracy is practised the way it should be practised, 90 per cent of people holding office in Nigeria cannot hold office,” Okorocha said.
He attributed the situation to a political culture in which candidates are allegedly imposed on party members and voters, rather than selected through credible processes that reflect their preferences.
“Most of them are not truly the choice of people. These are people who are imposed, opportunists, who find their way,” he said.
The former governor presented the judgment as a test of internal party democracy, suggesting that disputes over candidate selection expose weaknesses in how political parties conduct their primaries.
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His comments carry particular significance as political parties prepare for the 2027 general elections, when governorship, legislative and presidential contests will once again test the credibility of Nigeria’s candidate-selection processes.
However, the dispute in Imo West centres on a specific APC primary, not the outcome of the general election. The court’s decision concerns who should represent the party in the senatorial race, while Uzodimma has indicated his intention to appeal.
Okorocha also challenged conflicting figures presented in records relating to the primary. One set of figures reportedly credited Uzodimma with 230,464 votes and Okorocha with 1,098, while another document showed Okorocha with 150,780 votes.
He said he obtained certified documents from INEC on July 22, 2026, and questioned the authenticity or significance of another document dated August 22, which he associated with Uzodimma.
“The facts are too glaring,” he said.
Explaining why he welcomed the judgment, Okorocha said his satisfaction was not simply about being declared the winner but about correcting what he described as misinformation surrounding the exercise.
“My joy is not on the basis that I was declared a winner, but for the fact that so many misinformations paraded in the news media,” he said.
He concluded by framing the dispute as a question of popular choice rather than personal political advancement.
“It’s about the people,” he said.
The pending appeal could determine the final legal position on the APC ticket. More importantly, the controversy has renewed scrutiny of party primaries, where the credibility of the process often determines whether voters are presented with candidates chosen by party members or shaped by internal political power struggles.
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