The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice Chairman (South East), Prof. Ijeomah Arodiogbu, has described former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha’s claim to the Imo West senatorial ticket as a stolen mandate, vowing that the party will recover it.
Speaking during an appearance on TVC, Arodiogbu fired broadsides at Okorocha over the perverted judgement of the Federal High Court over the APC primary for Imo West (Orlu zone) which recognise d him.
He insisted that the process which produced Governor Hope Uzodimma as the clear winner remains the legitimate and authentic exercise recognised by the party and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Rochas is with a stolen mandate,” Arodiogbu declared. “We will recover it. The people of Imo West and the progressive family in the APC know the truth of what happened. No amount of court gymnastics or media theatrics can change the will of the party delegates who spoke clearly in favour of the authentic candidate.”
The National Vice Chairman’s remarks come amid the political fallout from a Federal High Court judgment in Abuja that recognised Okorocha as the winner of the disputed May 18, 2026 primary and directed INEC to publish his name.
The Imo State Government and APC stakeholders aligned with Governor Uzodimma have described the ruling as a travesty of justice and confirmed that an appeal has been filed at the Court of Appeal. Arodiogbu stressed that the South East APC leadership remains firmly behind due process, party supremacy, and the recovery of what he called the people’s mandate.
He urged party faithful across Imo West and the wider South East to remain calm, resolute, and focused on the larger progressive agenda of consolidating the gains of the Tinubu administration and strengthening the APC for the 2027 elections.
“The mandate belongs to the people and to the party, not to any individual who seeks to force himself on the system through irregular means,” Arodiogbu added. “We will pursue every legitimate avenue legal, political and organisational to recover it. The progressive train in Imo and the South East will not be derailed.”
