The Independent National Electoral Commission has asked the Department of State Services and the police to investigate a document circulating on social media which purportedly names former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, as the winner of the All Progressives Congress senatorial primary for Imo West.
INEC described the document as fictitious, insisting that its official report identified the incumbent governor, Hope Uzodimma, as the winner of the May 18, 2026, primary.
The commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Imo State, Chukwuemeka Ibeziako, made the request in separate letters dated October 5 and 8, 2026, addressed to the state director of the DSS and the state Commissioner of Police.
In the letter to the DSS, Ibeziako said his attention had been drawn to the disputed document circulating on social media.
He said the report in INEC’s possession, dated May 18, 2026, listed Uzodimma as the party’s duly elected candidate for the senatorial district.
“Unfortunately, the fictitious document wrongfully presented Senator Ethelbert Rochas Okorocha as the elected candidate for the party,” the letter stated.
The REC said copies of the report held by his office and the disputed document were attached to the letter for investigation.
He urged the DSS to investigate the circumstances surrounding the circulation of the document, warning that it could trigger a breakdown of law and order in the state.
Ibeziako subsequently repeated the request in a letter to the Imo State Commissioner of Police dated October 8.
The development comes amid a legal dispute between Okorocha, INEC, Uzodimma and the APC over the party’s ticket for Imo West ahead of the 2027 general election.
Okorocha had approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging INEC’s publication of Uzodimma’s name as the party’s candidate for the senatorial district.
In the suit, the former governor asked the court to determine whether INEC was bound by reports submitted by its officials who monitored the May 18 primary.
He also challenged the publication of Uzodimma’s name, citing Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, which restricts a sitting governor from holding another executive office or paid employment while in office.
The court’s determination of the dispute is expected to clarify the issues raised by the parties.
Meanwhile, the request for a security investigation does not, in itself, establish who created or circulated the disputed document.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
