By Emmanuel Kanayo
The camp of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has vowed to approach the Court of Appeal to challenge the Federal High Court judgment that declared former Governor Rochas Okorocha as winner of the APC Imo West senatorial primary.
The camp accused Okorocha of relying on forged documents to secure the court order.
Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Enyinna Onuegbu, disclosed this on Friday during an appearance on Arise TV, where he said the judgment was based on documents that both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC primary election committee had disowned as forgeries.
Onuegbu, a lawyer, said the electoral body that supervised the exercise and the committee that conducted it told the court that the documents tendered by Okorocha were "fictitious, totally fabricated and forged."
He faulted the court for failing to resolve the conflict in the documents by calling oral evidence, as required by law when forgery is alleged.
According to him, Okorocha never participated in the APC primary for Imo West, was never screened as an aspirant in Imo and was not physically present for any stakeholders' or delegates' briefing.
"The law is clear. Where there is a conflict in documents in an originating summons, and where forgery is alleged, you must put parties in the witness box for cross-examination. That was not done," Onuegbu argued.
He insisted that Governor Uzodimma, who was also an aspirant, did not conduct the primary and did not declare any result, contrary to Okorocha's claims.
With the appeal now imminent, the battle for the Imo West APC ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections has entered a fresh phase.
