Okorocha took the oath of office on Thursday, June 13, two days after 107 senators were sworn in during the National Assembly's inaugural session.

He wasn't sworn in because his name was missing from the official list of the National Assembly, the result of a dispute with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

INEC's returning officer for Imo West senatorial district election, Innocent Ibeabuchi, had announced Okorocha the winner of the February 23, 2019 election with 97,762 votes.

However, the official disclosed that he announced the result under duress, alleging that he was detained by Okorocha's supporters at the collation centre.

This led INEC to withhold Okorocha's certificate of return as the commission's chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, insisted that the commission will not issue any to a candidate declared winner under duress.

However, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered INEC to recognise the former governor as the winner of the election by issuing him a certificate of return.

The judge said Okorocha, whose tenure as governor ended last month, was entitled to the certificate as he was declared winner of the election, ruling that the issue of duress is unknown to both the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution.

INEC didn't issue the certificate to Okorocha until late on Tuesday after his fellow lawmakers had already been sworn in. The electoral commission also disclosed that it will appeal the court's judgement.